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Pregnant and just diagnosed.. does anybody have info
I am 15 weeks pregnant and have just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I am looking for some up to date information on the affects of hormone therapy and chemotherapy on an unborn baby. I have been told that I dont have the option to wait untill after the baby is born to get this treatment.
Or maybe somebody knows a specialist or consultant that has experience in this area? I am so worried for my baby and a lot of people are suggesting and hinting that I end the pregnancy in order to get the best treatment possible.
Also my cancer is Her2 +. Is this type of cancer and pregnancy related in anyway?
Thanks in advance
Kate
oh kate bless you you must be so worried, do you know what type BC, it is possible that only surgery may be nec ??? sorry I can't help more except to say you will find o0n this site that someone will likely share your experience xxxx jeanette x
dear Kate
As Jeanette has said there will be lots of different factors for you to consider. Call the BCC helpline tomorrow. This must be such a worrying time for you, I simply can't imagine how you must be feeling
Keep bumping this thread up and i am sure someone will be along and have advice for you
take care
Rhian x
Hi again Kate
I agree you should call the helpline tmoro + see if they have any relevant info. have you been assigned a breast care nurse yet? If so give them a ring + ask if they can discuss this with you. You have so mch on your plate + your medical team are likely to want to move quickly, so you must get all the info you need to make all the difficult decisions ahead. You said your tumour is her2 pos, is it also hormone (er/pr+) positive? I would imagine er/pr+ cancers would be more risky whilst pregnant as there are mre hormones in your body?
There is a lovely lady on here called lulu who is a bcn + I'm sure she will advise you if she sees this. She is very knowledgable + offers great advice.
Thinking of you
tina x
I agree with gingerbud try and catch Lulu, she also works with some of the best in the country, xxxx I'll have alook on the threads she was on earlier and bump one so you can send her a private message (PM)xxxxx
Hi Kate
This is understandably a very difficult and confusing time for you. As other ladies have suggested, do give the helpline a call tomorrow, they open at 9am, they'll be able to offer support and information and signpost you to other sources of advice.
The number is 0808 800 6000.
Also, there is some information on the site too, here's the link:
http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/breast-cancer-breast-health/living-with-breast-cancer/younger-women/pregnancy/
And the link to our publication:
http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/upload/pdf/breast_cancer_during_pregnancy_0.pdf
Hope this is useful.
Best wishes.
Louise
Facilitator
hi kate look at thread " I can;t believe it" and you find Lulu xxx
Hello
Lulu I know has had a hectic weekend so may not be on here tonight , i will send her a message on FB
Also if you want to PM someone, in your profile click on 'in box' and there is an option to compose a message , click on that and you get a message box up and you can 'look up' a member, put Lulu name in that box
Rhian x
Hi again,
This website has been a god send. I am amazed that people can take the time to respond and offer advice when they are going through so much themselves.
I have printed off that publication and reading it made me feel so much better. I only got diagnosed on Friday and was in such shock that I didnt ask many questions about my pregnancy. I was just trying to deal with the fact that I had BC.
I am seeing my breast care nurse tomorrow so I will ask a lot of questions but I dont think she has ever dealt with anyone who is pregnant with BC so I dont know if she will have the answers.
Thanks again
Kate x
Hi kate,
I think i saw an earlier thread of yours, being worried in case you had bc, and i'm gutted to read your post today, and am so sorry to see you here.
There have been a few ladies pregnant when diagnosed on this site in the year since i've been on the forum. All of their babies were born unaffected by the treatment their mums had. You may want to send a private message to a lady called jane72 who i think has had the most recent experience. Most of them are getting on with their lives now, which is great! But they pop on here every now and again to support other ladies. There is also an american website for pregnant ladies undergoing cancer treatment which has lovely stories with happy endings. Sorry, i csn't recall the name.
From what i remember, jane had a mastectomy as couldnt have the scans etc for a lumpectomy due to the prwgnancy. She had half her chemo in the last trimester of her pregnancy, then the other more toxic part shortly after the birth. She had radiotherapy after the birth too.
Your treatment will depend on how far through the pregnancy you are as i think you need to be a certain number of weeks before they'll let you have chemo. You are in your second trimester now, but i have a feeling it might be only in the third trimester, but dont quote me on that. Its a total no-no in yoyr first trimester i think, but you've done that bit already!!!
I had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiotherapy last year. I was dealt with super-quick and was diagnosed early march, operated on late march and started chemo end of april. Most ladies seem to have taken a few weeks longer. If you are recomended the same treatment, a similar timescale would get you near your last trimester.
I would certainly ask to see an expert on pregnancy/cancer treatment. I'm in manchester and i know The Christie, our cancer hospital, has a consultant who deals with all the pregnancy/czncer ladies.
I hope this has helped. Have just remembered, oh baby is another lovely lady who has been through what you are facing.
Loads of hugs and love
vickie
xxx
Kate
I have dropped Lulu a note
You have lots to take in at the moment
you take care and let us know how you go , there is a wealth of help and support on here
love rhian x
hi kate just sending you big hugs. gaynor xxx
Hi Kate
i just thought id pop on as Rhian had contacted me on FB.
there is so much to take in right now with so many emotions whizzing around that im sure you will be a in complete turmoil at the mo.
as the others have said there isnt any specific harms from chemo to the baby.... you would be monitored even more closely by both obstetric and and oncology teams and your midwife.... chemo can be pretty demanding and being pregnant also places extra demands on your body so you could feel pretty poorly.
often if the cancer is 2cm or over they will give chemo first and you can make a decision on surgery after baby is born.... they wont normally give you hormonal treatment or herceptin til you have finished chemo even if you werent pregnant so its unlikely you would need to worry about this until after baby is born as the chemo usually takes around 6 months to complete.
herceptin positive cancer is a less common type only around a quarter of all breast cancers are positive for these receptors. and there isnt any evidence it is linked to pregnancy as post menopausal women also get it and its fairly equally spread through all age groups. it is thought that because of the increased hormones circulating during pregnancy this could speed up the ocurrence of hormone positive cancer... meaning that if you already were gonna get cancer it may happen a bit quicker because you are pregnant but not that it causes the cancer in the first place.
good luck with your appt tomorrow i hope it goes well.... sending much love Lulu xx
Hi Kate
Sorry you have had to join us on here especially being pregnant too but you have come to the right place for help and support.
It will be worth you reading through the posts on the pregnant with breast cancer thread as you will get a real insight of what may lie ahead for you.
Although numbers are rising, it is still rare to be dx with breast cancer whilst pregnant. What you have to do is to make sure when your treatment plan starts that your surgeon/oncologist/obstetrician all talk to each other and you as they have two patients to deal with. You will come across conflicting opinions from medics and not that long ago many hospitals would have advised a termination at this point but this is not always the case now. If you are not happy with the advice you receive from your surgeon/onc then you can always seek a second opinion but remember you have a say in this too.
I was dx at 30 weeks into my pregnancy, so at a different stage to you, and I had surgery straight away. My baby then had to be induced (they tried at 35 weeks) and eventually baby was induced and born at 37 weeks. I then started chemotherapy 2 weeks later. I was er- but pr+ and I was also HER2+. I was dx in May 2006.
It is bad enough to have a breast cancer dx but being pregnant too can make it a very isolating experience which is why this forum may become a bit of a life support for you, although some of the mums who have gone through this may not post that regularly any more because they are just trying to get on with life and bring up their little ones along with other family commitments.
Please keep posting Kate and let us know how you are getting on. I'm sure others will post soon too.
Take care. Love xxx
http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/forum/pregnant-with-breast-cancer-f175.html
I'd like to thank you all again for the advice. Hopefully when I come through this I can come back on with loads of advice for others in my situation.
I had a liver scan and MRI today. I will have the results Thursday. I am praying it hasnt spread. I'm so nervous.
I will be meeting the oncologist Thursday too so I can discuss the pregnancy with her. I just get the feeling that they havent dealt with anybody who is pregnant before and that worries me.
I brought up the subject of a termination today but the breast care nurse would not discuss it with me. Its not what I want to do but I still wanted their opinion on the matter.
Kate x
Dear Kate
Sending loads of strength, just take each bit of the next few weeks with all the info you will have to deal with, a bit at a time. There is loads of support on here everyone will be rooting for you.
sending you lots of love
Rhian x
Hi Kate
I'm so sorry to hear you're heading through the nightmare I've just come out of.
I was diagnosed at 15 weeks pregnant in June last year and am very happy to tell you I gave birth to a healthy girl six months ago, after surgery, chemotherapy and more surgery while pregnant. I'm also very happy to tell you that I haven't heard any bad anecdotal evidence of someone having a different experience. There shouldn't be any reason to terminate.
I know we're not supposed to name doctors here, but I don't know if I can give you a couple of names (please, moderator??) seeing as it's rather exceptional circumstances? If you feel your doctor doesn't know what s/he's doing, ask them outright: how many pregnant women with breast cancer have you treated? I did. The oncologist was totally frank, said two women, and suggested if I wanted the best possible care, I should see his colleague. There is a doctor at the Royal Free, who has treated more pregnant patients than anyone else in the country. My onc, has treated several and published a paper on it. I don't know where you are in the country, but if you can get to London for a second opinion, or Brighton, then it may be worth it to instill confidence.
I was given 4 rounds of AC at 3-weekly intervals, starting at about 20 weeks pregnant, then 4x Paclitaxel, starting 4 weeks after the baby was born. This gave me time to recover from the AC, give birth naturally (there was no talk of inducing baby) and have a break before starting again. It took about 6 weeks to recover from the AC, so by the time baby was born, I really felt ok. Bald, but ok!
Chemotherapy is rough, there's no way round that. But the one thing I heard from here and found for myself is that it tends not to make you sick if you're pregnant. God knows why, the onc didn't have any ideas!
There is much I could tell you, so please message me if you want to know more. You will get through it. Very good luck with the scans, I will be thinking of you. xxxxxxxxxx
Hi Kate
It is possible that the hospital treating you haven't dealt with anyone who had breast cancer and was pregnant at the same time or if they did maybe it was a long time ago but if you are unsure after meeting with your onc please ask to be referred to a hospital where they do have experience of dealing with pregnancy/breast cancer.
When I was dx I asked my bcn to put me in touch with others in a similar situation - she came up with one person from 4 or 5 years prior to my dx and I was being treated at a centre of excellence!! (By the way I did make contact with this other mum and she was a godsend to me at the time. I must say though that my bcn wasn't too keen on me making contact with this other mum but she did it for me and I will be forever grateful to her)
You will find from reading through lots of different posts on here that treatment varies so much from one hospital to another its amazing so it wouldn't surprise me if your gut reaction was right i.e. they haven't dealt with anyone who was pregnant before.
Hoping for good results for you on Thursday. Love xxxx
Hi all,
Just a quick reminder to everyone that as per BCC's Community Guidelines you are not allowed to post on the open forums the names of any professionals due to legal reasons. Please see Community Guidelines - Point 4 - Keeping it Legal. You are, however, able to share this information by the private message system only.
http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/forum/community-guidelines-please-read-p402236.html#p402236
Many thanks,
Jo, Facilitator
Hi Kate
Sorry that you're where you are but there is a lot of hope out there supported by many stories of healthy babies! Mine is one of them
I was diagnosed at 3 months with agressive bc and had EC (FEC without the F) chemo whilst pregnant. Eva arrived with more hair than me so she couldn't have had much chemo from me!!
Here's my story:
http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/forum/diagnosed-at-3-months-now-have-happy-babyǃ-t27327.html
There is also hope for breastfeeding should you want to do that so you're in early days - and they don't have to mean the end of your pregnancy or that decisions are taken out of your hands. I wrote a few threads on this on the Younger Womens forum and I did breastfeed (or at least tried...the chemo stopped me producing more than an ounce of milk so stopped trying after 6 weeks (didn't feed for 10 days after chemo though - read my other threads)) It is a topic that gets opinions going though!!!
I was treated at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire and I know of a couple of people treated whilst pregnant at Royal Free in London and another at a different London hospital (can't think which one for now though - beware of chemo brain in addition to baby brain LOL). My Onc spoke to to the other hospitals for advice and they were all more or less doing the same thing. Mods - hope it is OK to say the name of hospitals even if we can't say the name of the Oncs??
Very happy to help if I can...there aren't many of us and we have to help each other.
Take care
Faye
Wow. Your stories make me feel so much better.
And I didnt realise we weren't allowed to mention doctors on here so sorry for asking!!
Sorry I didnt mention this sooner but I am not in the UK. I am in Dublin. I would be willing to travel to get a second opinion but I am not sure how to go about it! I am meeting the Oncologist for the first time on Thursday so maybe I will discuss this with her.
I showed my husband this thread and he is amazed and delighted at the stories of healthy babies being born after chemo.
hi kate
so sorry that your here hope your feel ok with everything i know it is alot to take in.i just wanted you to know i was 12wks preg and they found 3 lumps so had to have masectomy which i did at 16wk then went on to have chemo bout 20 wks they did induce my labour at 34 wks so i could start my hepcetin which was all fine my baby girl spent 10 in hospital before she came home with us and she is a perfect little 16month old girl. from the moment i was told it was cancer i told the surgeon my life came first over my unborn baby as i also have another child. but not once did he say i should terminate he said there is a rick of miscarriage as there is in every pregnancy.so they did my mascetomy first so that by the time i stared chemo ill of been further on in my pregnancy. and all went to plan hope this helps and all works out for you lots of love xxx
Thanks Piggy and all the others for the positive stories xx
Hi katel31,
can't offer any advice (I will leave that to those who can) but I did want to just leave you a friendly hug and offer my support to you and your family
Take care, good luck and glad to hear that you are getting some positive support with your current fears. BC is scary enough without having additional worries.
One thing for sure is ...you are in the right place for good advice and much needed hand holding.
Best wishes
Suze xx
Hi Kate, my cancer was also HER2 positive (I was 35 weeks along: try for a second opinion on your diagnosis/treatment plan. Good luck and keep up hope!!