Im so happy to see this forum with so many ladies going thru the same experience as me, it gives me some hope but i do have some questions to ask and i hope to hear your opinions. Im living in Iceland so its very rare with women in this condition. Just got the news today that i have stage 1 grade 3 breast cancer and have to decide either to abort or keep the fetus which is 8weeks now and i already have 2 girls who are 7 and 4yrs old. I would undergo full mastectomy and undergo chemo. What i want to know is if i keep going with my pregnancy would there be any side effects on the health of the baby?
In addition to the help and support from your fellow users I am posting a link to the BCC publication ‘Breast cancer and pregnancy’ which you can download/read:
sporeice , hello. what a terrible dilema… i dont suppose everyone will agree with what im going to say but here goes… and please make your OWN decision… DONT LET ME INFLUENCE YOUR CHOICES …
firstly your only 8weeks pregnant… that means you have 32 weeks before your baby is due to be born…
you already have 2 young children who are dependant on you …
stage 1 is good …grade 3 means very possibly chemotherapy
im not 100% sure but i dont think they will give you chemo untill you have passed the 12 wk mark ,
you need to speak to your oncologist again … and listen to what he recomends …
what will happen if you continue with the pregnancy … i really dont know … hopefully all will turn out well … but you need expert advice … personally as you already have youngsters and your in the very early stages of pregnancy , i wouldent rule out termination…but you do need to get lots of advice before you make any decisions, sorry if i have offended anyone , no offence intended , angie
Somebody else came on the forums with the same question that you have aske. I’ll have a look and if I find it I’ll bump it up for you.
All the best with whatever you decide. x
What a horrible position to be in. My children were 19 and 17 when I was diagnosed so I can’t even begin to understand what you’re going through now.
There are some women on here who were diagnosed when pregnant, had chemo during pregnancy and have gone on to have lovely healthy babies and I’m sure they’ll be along soon to give you their support. It isn’t common, but isn’t actually as unusual as you might think! I’d imagine, though, in your situation with a small population your oncs might not have come across it before so they really should be consulting with colleagues abroad with more experience.
As far as I know (and I’m no expert!) chemo isn’t a problem for the unborn baby. They may want to wait until you’re 12 weeks but if you’re having a mastectomy first that wouldn’t be a problem as you can’t have chemo straight after the operation because it affects your ability to heal. They’ll usually wait three or four weeks.
Do you know if your tumour is hormone dependent yet? That would probably influence the decision as well as the pregnancy hormones could potentially affect it.
Just found two other threads that discuss pregnancy and chemotherapy.
Have bumped them up for you and below I have given details of where they can be found if they disappear. x
Forums > Talk to others in a similar situation > Pregnant with breast cancer > Chemotherapy whilst pregnant
Forums > Talk to others in a similar situation > Younger women > Meeting other younger people - Farnborough, Fleet, Guildford
I’m so sorry to hear your diagnosis has come as mine did - at a terribly vulnerable time.
I was diagnosed (with a recurrence, after 5.5yrs clear) at about 15 weeks pregnant. I was carrying our second child and really didn’t want to abort, but of course didn’t want to damage the baby, or to risk my life when we already had a two year old.
I went on to have a mastectomy and lymph node clearance at about 18 weeks pregnant, then started chemotherapy a month later.
There are drugs which have been well tried and tested during pregnancy, with very little risk to the baby - at least, that is during the second and third trimester, but chemotherapy is not given in the first trimester (not in the UK, anyway). I had AC, then Paclitaxel after the baby was born, as my oncologist was not happy for me to have this drug while pregnant.
I went on to give birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl, although she did come a little early (waters broke at 36 weeks). She’s nearly a year old now and is doing very well, reaching milestones in line with her big sister. Please send me a private message if you want any info. You’ll find lots of studies if you google chemotherapy during pregnancy - one recent study took place at 5 London hospitals. And there’s a lot of evidence dating back to Mexico in the 1970s, demonstrating that certain drugs present very small risk.
Very best of luck to you. It’s a very difficult time, but there can be a happy ending. xxxxxxxx Jane
It is a tough decision to make, its always seems easier to say it than to actually be doing it. I still have sunday to make up my mind, the docs did mention that i would undergo treatment for 6 mths. I still have to consider my other 2 girls and since Im still under 40, i hope that i can still get pregnant after the treatment if i decide to terminate the pregnancy.
Does anyone else have the same stage 1 grade 3 breast cancer? I know that its a common breast cancer among younger women.