Hi there, just wondering if anyone can give me any advice? I’ve just been diagnosed with grade 3 breast cancer (not sure of stage yet, still waiting for test results) ER+ PR+ and am just over 5 wks pregnant with our first baby. I am a BRCA1 carrier and had a stage 1 grade 3 triple neg DCIS when I was 25 so unfortunately am familiar with the emotional and practical effects of diagnosis and treatment. My main concern this time is obviously for our baby, who was conceived naturally after a recent diagnosis of “unexplained infertility” - we were due to start IVF in a few months! I don’t wish to consider termination because we were trying to conceive for two and a half years with zero success and I feel that this may be our only chance to have our own biological child.
My consultant would like to proceed with mastectomy as soon as possible ie. In first trimester but I am concerned that this is unsafe for the baby. I have read conflicting reports regarding this; some say that surgery during first trimester is not safe and others say that it’s ok. I am so confused and would love to hear from someone else who was diagnosed during the first trimester of pregnancy.
I can’t help with this but just want to say how sorry I am to hear that you’ve been diagnosed. It’s just so unfair.
There is another lady who has posted in the last few days who is in her first trimester of pregnancy,I’ll see if I can find the post and bump it up for you.
Congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope it all goes well. I’m sorry to see that at the minute no other forum users have come forward, but hopefully over the next few days someone will and be able to give you the support you are looking for. In the meantime have you thought about giving the helpline here a ring, the staff will be only too happy to talk to you about this. Lines are open on Monday morning at 9am until 5pm (M-F 9-5 & Sat 9-2) Calls are free, 0808 800 6000.
Thanks for your well wishes and info Lisa and Jo, and thanks everyone else for the bumps. Sincerely hoping to hear from someone who can offer some sort of advice or who may have been in this situation before. By the way, forgot to mention my age in first post, not sure how important it is but I’m 33.
Sorry you have had to join us here again. Your new dx probably came at the same sort of time(ish) that you found out you were pregnant - the best and worst of times.
Although I was pregnant when dx my situation was completely different to the one you face. I don’t know whether it is safe or not to have surgery during the first trimester. What I would urge you to do though is to seek out a hospital/oncologist/obstetrician (maybe someone at the Royal Marsden) who will probably have more experience of dealing with women in your situation. What you discover once you are dx are that hospital treatments vary so much depending where you are in the country. However, you need specialist care and advice not just to deal with your current dx and pregnancy but for your fertility in the future. You do also have to think about you, the fact that your cancer is hormone driven and you are a BRCA1 carrier.
I am so sorry I can’t offer you any other advice but I hope someone will come along soon who maybe can. Many of the mums on here who have been dx whilst pregnant do still come on to this site but maybe not so regularly.
I have only just read your post after posting my story. I also wanted to say congratulations which I know now may seem biter sweet. I remember telling people about my diagnosis and then havin go say " oh yes and by the way Im pregnant too". It wasn’t the way I had really envisaged telling people!
I guess the type of cancer we have is different so im guessing that the treatment may be slightly different too. I had my lumpectomy at around 10 weeks pregnant. After speaking to my obstetrician she made us feel a lot better about it as she said there are a lot of other people who have surgery for other reasons when pregnant. Of course she said like anything there is no guarantees. Its such a hard decision to make, sometimes I felt that I never made decisions everything just happened on its own!
All I can say it that we have a lovely little boy now and i’m just learning how to be a mum and cant believe that we have got here safe and sound. I don’t know what the future holds but i’m just going to be the best mum I can be for him and cross my fingers that he will be stuck with me for a very long time!!!
You’re not alone, be strong and you will get through it. Feel free to ask me anything or if you just need reassurance.
xx
Thank you both so much Swissmiss and Bertie-g for your really helpful advice. I’m sorry for taking so long to reply, it’s been a busy week! I am so glad to hear from someone who has been in this situation and had a successful outcome - congratulations on the birth if your baby Bertie-g, such wonderful news and thank you for sharing your inspirational story.
My surgeon has spoken to a couple of obs-gyn and they have informed him that the risk of miscarriage is the same in the first trimester with or without surgery and as you said Bertie-g there are no guarantees. They are anxious for me to proceed with a mastectomy and have booked me in on 20th October, during my 8th week of pregnancy. I am slightly apprehensive but trying to stay as calm as possible for the sake of the baby. I am confident in my surgeon and hopeful for a positive outcome.
Thanks again for your well wishes and advice.
Px
P.S. I think “bump” is the term people use to bump the post to the top of the list to attract attention; each time a topic gets a comment it automatically rises to the top. As opposed to baby bump of course!!
I had my dx when 12 weeks pregnant so had my operation just into the 2nd trimester. I think the problem is with how long you might be under the GA rather than the surgery itself. Maybe ask to speak to a Anaesthetist (sp?) before you make any decisions?
My daughter is now 19 months old and meets all of her milestones etc - very happy and healthy. I had 5 chemos whilst pregnant and gave birth naturally at 37 weeks.
I’m not sure I should be writing this as it adds confusion to an already difficult situation but it could change things in terms of your long terms treatment so I wanted to say something. I apologise in advance for making questions rather than answering them!
When my lump was checked it originally showed as weak positive (a 3 and a 4) for hormones. However when I went to see my Oncologist he said that given my age (33) and my family history of Ovarian cancer he would treat me as BRCA1 (which I later tested positive for). He said that almost all BRCA cancers are triple negative so asked for my lump to be re-tested…it came back as triple negative! I never really got to the bottom of what changed the result but think it was something to do with the pregnancy or just the way they test things.
Wishing you every success with your treatment and wonderful pregnancy.
Hello, I was much further along than you (35 weeks in fact) when I received my diagnosis, but I still wanted to obtain a second opinion on my treatment plan - this is completely the normal thing to do, and the consultants are used to it. Good luck with it, and keep up hope!! xx
Thank you both Faye and Janne for your advice. I’m glad to say that I’ve had the surgery and a post op scan at 9 and a half weeks showed that the baby was doing well. My 12 wk scan is tomorrow and I’m so nervous. I’ve also just met with my onc and obstetrician and must admit that I found both meetings very upsetting. Even though they both seem very nice and extremely experienced in this area, they can be so clinical in the terminology that they use and they tend to err on the side of caution with their “realism.” I’ve read so many positive stories here and elsewhere that my husband and I were feeling quite confident regarding the chemo but now we both feel utterly deflated all over again. Just crossing everything that all is ok at the scan tomorrow and in the meantime will be seeking second and possibly third opinions.
Thanks again everyone for taking the time to respond. I will try to keep updating here and hope and pray for positive outcomes for everyone in this agonising situation.
Try not to worry too much about how positive (or not!) they might be. At the end of the day they won’t want to get your hopes up and ‘us pregnant and BC ladies’ are very rare!
My Obs wasn’t that hopeful and it used to really upset me. Originally she wanted to deliver via c-section at 32 weeks to save baby having more chemo than needed. As time went by she started to see how well I was doing and how well baby was managing and so she started to have faith in my ability.
Essentially as time went on she became more hopeful and also allowed herself to show that hope. By the time I had baby I thought she was wonderful and realised that when I at first thought she just wouldn’t tell me things, in fact she was telling me everything she could - it just wasn’t that much information as you can’t predict how things will go.
Wishing you all the luck in the World. Don’t be afraid to enjoy every moment of your pregnancy. It might not be easy but it’s yours none the less.
Thanks again Faye for your words of wisdom. It’s so good to hear from someone who has come out the other end. I’m trying to be as positive as possible and had been doing really well until my meetings with the onc and obs. I know that they are just trying to prepare me for the worst case scenario and there are never any guarantees in treating breast cancer during pregnancy. My breast surgeon keeps reminding me that babies are extremely resilient though and I just need to have faith in our little bean.
Thanks again Faye for your support, it is really helping me and I’m really grateful for this forum.
I think it is pretty normal that your medical team will err on the side of caution. I think we all want to be told that everything is going to be ok but it is too unpredictable. I think as you overcome each stage their attitudes will change, just as Faye has said. For now you have come through your surgery and everything seems ok. Tomorrow you will have your 12 week scan - hopefully this will be ok too. I think the 12 week scan is such an exciting time when you get your first glimpse of your baby and even though you are having to deal with having breast cancer at the same time, don’t let the cancer rob you of the joy of seeing your baby.
Not sure if this will help but from my surgery at 30 weeks pregnant my onc then gave me a window of 12 weeks maximum in order to start my chemo. It was actually 9 weeks after my surgery (2 weeks after the birth of my baby) that I started it. Some people have a delay in starting chemo because of complications with their surgery, infections which delay healing so there is scope for delaying treatment but given the early stages of your pregnancy it will be inevitable that you will have to have chemo whilst pregnant. Faye has come through this, as has Jane72 and I think there are a few other ladies too so please don’t lose sight of that.
Good luck with your scan tomorrow - I will be thinking of you and hoping all is well. Love xxx
Thanks Swissmiss, really appreciate your support. My onc has also mentioned that 12 week window but she is eager to start between weeks 12 and 14 of pregnancy and wants to complete the chemo within the second trimester. She has suggested that I have it weekly, which is going to be quite intense and I don’t have much support here in London as all my family and friends are at home in Ireland so I’m not sure how we will cope. Fortunately, I don’t have to work and don’t have any children to look after.
I hope that you and your little one are doing well and thanks for thinking of us ahead of tomorrow’s scan.
As well as the support you are receiving from the other users you might find the BCC publication ‘Breast Cancer during pregnacy’ useful to read as it contians information on the treatments available. If you would like a to order a copy or to read this on line just follow the link below:-
I have come to post on this thread becau I have a similar situation. But an in a crossroads on what to do. I feel like I can’t talk to many people who truly understand what I am going through. Any suggestion would be helpful.
I am 7.5 weeks pregnant and was diagnosed breast cancer during my 1st appointment with my OB to confirm my pregnancy. (I found out I was pregnant through an in-home pregnancy test). I guess I have had breast cancer for a while, but had no idea. The lump found in my breast was and is currently approximately 4cm. I felt it months ago, but didn’t worry so much about it. I know that sounds strange, for a girl to not worry about a lump in their breast (it’s one of the most feared thing with any woman). Well, I am 25 years old. At 24, I talked to 2 doctors, whom both said not to worry about it because breast cancer occur with women over 30 and that it was just “benign.” when I was 24, the lump was smaller. I had also had an external cyst on my back. Thus, the doctors assumed it was a similar thing. I regret believing what doctors said back then.
My crossroads now is this: my current doctors says that it is “definitely my decision.” but they are all (all 5 specialists) are strongly hinting that i terminate my pregnancy. Simply because it’ll be easier for them to cure me. I seriously fear of doing this. It is my pregnancy and it was good news to find that I was pregnant. I have a week or so to decide what to do - to terminate and treat myself aggressively, or to keep the baby and have mild treatment with higher risks down the road.
my stomach is turning just talking about this. I feel like the doctors are simply saying there’s minimal chance of proper treatment if I keep the baby. Please advise?