Future pregnancy after successfully treated breast cancer

There is no documented evidence to suggest that future pregnancy may trigger recurrence of breast cancer.

Having a mammogram during pregnancy.

A mammogram is less reliable in pregnancy because of the changes to the breast. It does, however, have a place - albeit limited - in trying to diagnose breast cancer, even in pregnancy.

As far as the safety of the fetus is concerned, experts agree that the amount of radiation is negligible and the fetus is perfectly safe.

The definitive diagnosis, however, depends on needle aspiration of any suspicious lumps for the cells to be analyzed in the laboratory.

Breast-feeding as a protection against future development of breast cancer

Studies have shown that having children confers some protection against future development of breast cancer. This benefit is further increased among those who breast-feed.

The benefit conferred by childbirth is, however, eliminated by delayed first pregnancy. A woman who has her first child at 30 has the same life-time risk of breast cancer as one who never had any. On the other hand, a woman who has her first child at 35 has twice the risk of her counterpart who had her first at age 20.

Women who breast-feed their children have a significantly lower incidence of breast cancer compared to those who never had children or those who did not breast-feed.

Prevalence of breast cancer in pregnancy

In the Western world, roughly one in every 3000 pregnant women will have breast cancer. This means, out of the over 4 million women who give birth every year in the United States, round twelve hundred will be found to have breast cancer. In Britain (England and Wales) with over 640,000 annual births, 200 mothers every year will have this diagnosis.

The rate is thought to be much lower in developing countries, presumably partly because of the higher prevalence of breast-feeding and a lower age of having a first child.

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