Breastfeeding after Breast Cancer Treatment?

Is it even safe for a woman to breastfeed after breast cancer? A medical journal review answers a resounding “yes”:

After breast cancer treatment, there is no evidence that breastfeeding increases the risk of breast cancer recurrence, nor that it carries any health risk to the newborn. Women previously treated for breast cancer and free of recurrence are allowed to breastfeed their children. Beneficial effects of breastfeeding for the mother and the newborn should lead physicians and midwives to encourage prolonged breastfeeding in their medical practice.

Furthermore, another review states:

A frequently named reason not to nurse is the discouragement by the health care provider. Women treated with breast cancer should be encouraged to breastfeed their children.

Yesterday I raised the question of breast cancer treatment options for women who wish to preserve their ability to breastfeed. Continuing my series for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, today I take a look at chemotherapy, radiation, lumpectomy and mastectomy. I mention these only as a springboard for discussion with a woman’s oncologist. Naturally the feasibility and risk associated with each option depends on the particular diagnosis. As a starting point, here’s some basic information on chemotherapy, radiation, lumpectomy and mastectomy from a lactation perspective.

1. Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy requires the breastfeeding mother to wean for the duration of the chemotherapy treatments. An oncologist could advise the mother at what point it would be safe to resume breastfeeding. It is possible to test some expressed breast milk to see if all of the harmful agents have cleared from the mother’s system. Even if the course of chemotherapy was lengthy and the mother was unable to keep up her supply, it may be possible for her to re-lactate. Certainly chemotherapy preserves a woman’s ability to breastfeed subsequent children.

2. Radiation. A mother who receives radiation on one breast can continue to nurse uninterrupted on the unaffected side. Once a doctor has deemed it safe to nurse on the affected side, it remains to be seen how much milk that side will produce–some mothers experience a decrease in supply while others maintain adequate supply.

3. Lumpectomy. A nursing mother would be wise to choose a surgeon who has experience operating on a lactating breast, both because the presence of milk can complicate the surgery slightly, and an experienced surgeon can minimize the cutting of major nerves and milk ducts. Nursing can resume immediately after surgery, as soon as the mother is comfortable. Of course, if the surgery affected only one breast, nursing can continue uninterrupted on the other side. Kellymom.com offers several resources on breastfeeding after breast surgery, including lumpectomy and breast reduction.

4. Mastectomy. A mother who undergoes a single mastectomy can continue breastfeeding uninterrupted on the other side. Thanks to the principle of supply and demand, it is possible for a mother to produce enough milk to feed her baby from her remaining breast.