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Cancer is a disease that has increasingly grown the number of patients, including babies, children and adults. It is a disease that does not choose age, ethnicity or financial condition. The word cancer is the name given to a group that gathers more than 200 diseases throughout the body and that defines the abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells . When talking about the disease, is it inevitable not to be frightened and think of the worst and when does cancer arise in pregnancy then?
As the treatment is very radical and based on strong medications such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the biggest concern is related to the health of the fetus in contact with the treatment. However, on the other hand, the lack of adequate treatment puts the mother’s life at risk , which makes the situation even more delicate. Among the possible cancers that can arise during pregnancy, breast cancer is what occurs on average 50% of cases and the second being lymphomas and leukemia which is around 27% of the statistics.
Any type of the disease is extremely important for early detection, especially cancer in pregnancy, which will be essential to prevent it from putting the fetus in contact with treatment that is harmful to its development . Throughout the pregnancy, the period of greatest restriction and care is in the first trimester where the fetus is in full formation and treatment should proceed with the utmost caution.
Treatment of Cancer in Pregnancy
According to oncologists it is possible to offer safe treatments for cancer in pregnancy and in some cases until the surgical procedure of withdrawal occurs during pregnancy. Regarding diagnostic exams using ultrasound that do not use ionizing radiation or mammography in the case of breast cancer, the use of a lead apron to protect the belly during pregnancy is essential.
When cancer is confirmed in pregnancy, chemotherapy is generally not indicated in the first trimester of pregnancy. During this period, the fetus is in formation and contact with treatment can pose risks to his health. After the first 3 months of pregnancy , chemotherapy treatment can be started. Unlike the treatment of radiotherapy, which is not advisable to perform during the gestational period.
Usually, specialists control and treat cancer during pregnancy so that they can control or decrease it until the baby is born. Where they will be able to perform more radical procedures in order to stop the disease or perform the procedures that are necessary without posing risks to the baby. The treatment since the discovery must always be followed by the obstetrician and the oncologist, where the baby’s health must be guaranteed and the success of the mother’s treatment achieved.
Most of the time, deliveries are scheduled and a cesarean section is performed. In the case of women who are undergoing cancer treatment and intend to become pregnant, they can rest assured. As long as the cancer does not involve the female reproductive system as in the uterus and ovaries and surgical removal is required during treatment, it is entirely possible to become pregnant after discharge from treatment.
In the case of women with cancer of the uterus and ovaries it is possible during the treatment to freeze gametes for future pregnancy. If you are interested, talk to your oncologist who will recommend the best solutions for your condition. Thanks to the evolution of medicine, each day we are closer to finding a cure for cancer and in the meantime, they find more alternatives to circumvent and recover patients with the disease.
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My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
