Info about Cancer
Breast Cancer Therapy for Women in Their Reproductive Age
Women of every age are at risk of suffering from breast cancer and it rarely matters how old you are. Though, it is quite uncommon for younger women to be diagnosed with breast cancer. It is quite upsetting and difficult to be diagnosed with cancer in your reproductive or childbearing age. In a majority of cases, this can be very unexpected and surprising.
If a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer during a younger age, she is required to make a very difficult and critical decision about her life and future. This might lead her to approach life quite differently than she had previously planned.
It is quite rare to develop breast cancer during pregnancy but there is a possibility of it happening. If this situation occurs, then the therapy should take in mind the affected patient and also the fetus developing inside her.
Extensive examinations must be done to the patient to determine the stage of cancer development and the stage of pregnancy before deciding on a proper therapeutic approach. In a majority of cases, treatment for breast cancer will not affect the pregnant woman and their babies. Although in a few cases, it can be a big risk to administer certain treatment with pregnancy. If this situation occurs, often the obstetrician and healthcare practitioner will suggest terminating the pregnancy, particularly if the pregnancy is in its early stages. Yet, the final decision to end the pregnancy goes back to the women carrying the baby.
Basically, the cancer itself will not affect the fetus but certain examinations and treatments may have damaging effects on it. Therefore, the choices of treatment will be limited if the pregnancy is not terminated. Medically speaking, it is not required to end the pregnancy if the examinations and treatment does not have an adverse effect on the fetus.
Cancer treatments like radiotherapy, chemotherapy, tamoxifen and other identified drug related therapies are usually avoided in the treatment of pregnant women. These treatments can cause various birth defects. Tamoxifen that is hormonal therapy is especially classified to be dangerous for pregnant women or women planning to conceive. Additionally, it is not recommended to take tamoxifen after chemotherapy to prevent recurrence if the women wish to become pregnant right away. Alternatively, the surgical approach, either lumpectomy or mastectomy is the most recommended treatment for expectant women with breast cancer.
One other controversial problem concerning breast cancer and child bearing is whether or not breast cancer survivors are able or should continue to have children after recovering from cancer treatment.
People from both sides of the debate introduced excellent questions about situations like: How much does breast cancer therapy affect fertility? Is conceiving and carrying a baby safe after breast cancer therapy?
On the subject of fertility, it is quite difficult to find an exact answer. As an example, with chemotherapy, the extent of how much it will affect fertility depends on various factors like the specific drug administered and the age of the patient.
According to many physicians, the ideal situation is for breast cancer survivors to wait a few years to ensure that the disease is entirely cured without the possibility of recurrence before considering about having children. Although, a few women choose to have babies right away because it is quite important to them.
If detected early enough, breast cancer can be successfully treated. Thus, it is strongly suggested that women become aware of early symptoms of breast cancer so they can seek medical advice as early as possible.