Discovering that you’re pregnant and that you have cancer is a study in contrasts—it’s the happiest time in many women’s lives combined with one of the darkest and most terrifying.
“In the midst of the joy of pregnancy there’s this frightening diagnosis,” says Generosa Grana, MD, Director of the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. “The mom-to-be is worried about her own survival as well as the impact of her disease on the baby she’s giving birth to. What’s more, many doctors aren’t used to dealing with this difficult situation.” Read the full post from cooperhealth.org.
For many cancer survivors – both men and women alike – starting, expanding, or completing one’s family after cancer is a significant desire. But for female cancer survivors, many want to know, “Is pregnancy safe after cancer?” This is of particular concern for breast cancer survivors who may worry about the elevated estrogen levels that occur during pregnancy.
The good news is, for almost all cancer survivors (choriocarcinoma aside), pregnancy does not affect the risk of recurrence of any type of cancer – even breast cancer. This is true even for women with prior estrogen-positive cancers. In fact, some studies suggest that women with a history of early-stage breast cancer who become pregnant after completing treatment actually see an improvement in survival overall.
Pregnancy isn’t always easy but imagine you’re expecting a little one when you receive an unexpected cancer diagnosis.
With mom’s health now also on the line, a South Jersey doctor is breaking the medical mold by helping those women conquer cancer and deliver healthy babies – something that was once considered unthinkable. READ THE FULL STORY FROM WPVI-TV or watch the video below:
Nineteen years ago, Elyce Cardonick got a call about a newly diagnosed lymphoma patient whose fast-growing chest tumor was causing severe breathing problems.
The cancer patient was 13 weeks pregnant and had rejected her oncologist’s advice to abort before starting toxic chemotherapy. Read more
OSSINING, N.Y. —A study out this week looked at the effects of chemotherapy on babies whose mothers were treated for cancer during pregnancy. These cases are rare — only about one in 1,000 expectant moms are diagnosed with cancer. But as women are having babies later, and cancers are being diagnosed earlier, the numbers are expected to rise.
In April, 39-year-old Gina Neri received a happy surprise. She was pregnant with her third child. But she had symptoms that led her doctor to perform to a colonoscopy… View / Read Full Story from CBS.
Elyce H. Cardonick, MD; Marcy B. Gringlas, PhD; Krystal Hunter, MBA; Jay Greenspan, MD
OBJECTIVE: Cancer is diagnosed in approximately 1 per 1000 pregnant women. Lifesaving cancer therapy given to the mother during pregnancy appears in conflict with the interest of the developing fetus. Often, termination of pregnancy is suggested but has not been proven in any type of cancer to improve maternal prognosis, while very few studies have documented the long-term effects of in utero chemotherapy exposure on child outcome. To counsel patients about the risk of continuing a pregnancy while undergoing cancer treatment, we performed developmental testing to provide more detailed follow-up on children exposed in utero to chemotherapy. (more…)
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