CARING FOR PATIENTS
Her breast cancer diagnosis came four days before the birth of her son 6 things to know about breast cancer during pregnancy:
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It’s rare, appearing in about 1 in 3,000 pregnancies. In the long run, pregnancy decreases a woman's overall lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. However, during pregnancy, and shortly after, a woman's risk of breast cancer temporarily increases, says Jayne Charlamb, MD, who specializes in breast care and breastfeeding medicine. Breasts change, naturally, during pregnancy. They grow bigger, may be tender or become firm, or may leak colostrum, the first breast milk produced after childbirth. If changes affect only one breast, that’s a red flag worth mentioning to your obstetrician. Diagnosis of breast cancer during pregnancy and lactation is often delayed because the usual symptoms are not recognized as abnormal or because healthcare providers wrongly assume evaluation is not possible during pregnancy. It is always important to seek thorough evaluation of any breast changes that seem unusual to you. Breastfeeding is possible – though likely challenging – for new mothers who are in treatment for breast cancer. The baby is not at risk of catching cancer from the mother. C A N C E R C A R E l spring 2022 l upstate.edu/cancer
BY AMBER SMITH
Family nurse practitioner Davia Moss was taking off her sports bra when she noticed a lump in her breast. She was 34 and pregnant with her third child. Her obstetrician assured Moss it was probably nothing but sent her for a biopsy, just to be sure. “When I felt the lump, I thought that it was probably pregnancy related, either a clogged duct or just some normal cystic changes. I was very surprised,” Moss says. “Even two years later, I still am a little bit surprised.”
Cancer in pregnancy Cancer during pregnancy is uncommon. When it happens, it can be a challenge to diagnose and treat, says Jayne Charlamb, MD, an Upstate doctor of internal medicine who specializes in breast care and treating women at high risk for breast cancer.
Moss sought guidance from Charlamb – whom she had previously heard lecture on breastfeeding – after a breast surgeon advised against latching her new baby. Latching is how a baby attaches to its mother’s breast to breastfeed. “Breastfeeding has been a huge passion of mine,” says Moss, who breastfed her first two children – Eliana Adcock, now 7, and Cason Adcock, now 5 – until they were 2. She says her diagnosis didn’t sink in until she realized it might mean not breastfeeding her third. Charlamb believes any new mother with breast cancer should be able to consider the risks and benefits of breastfeeding. “I don’t think it’s something that every mom, or even most moms, would want to do. It’s a lot of work,” she says. “It takes a dedicated mom. It takes a very flexible baby. Davia was sort of set up to succeed. She was an
