Sexual & Reproductive Health and Family Planning

Breast Cancer during Pregnancy: Challenge

During pregnancy your breasts change in readiness for breast feeding. The breast tissue becomes denser. This can make it more difficult to find changes in the breast that are due to cancer. The most common symptom of breast cancer is a lump. If you have a change that doesn’t go away after 2 to 4 weeks tell your doctor or midwife. It is also because the cancer can be difficult to diagnose because of the changes in the breast tissue. If the biopsy shows that you have cancer you may then have other tests to check the size of your cancer. Deciding which treatment to have and what that will mean for you and your developing baby can be very difficult. Doctors advise that your treatment should be as close as possible to what someone who isn’t pregnant would have. And whenever possible the treatment should not be delayed.