Two years ago, Baishali Bhattacharya, a survivor of ovarian cancer, gave birth to a healthy baby. “I was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. Doctors advised me that if I wanted to have a baby I must do it soon.
I was operated on in 2020, and one of my ovaries had to be removed. I then got married in 2022, and had my baby in 2024. Thankfully, I was able to breastfeed as well, under medical supervision,” said the 31-year-old.
Historically, mastectomy, or the total removal of breasts, was considered standard care, but this no longer the case today, experts pointed out. From fertility preservation to nursing after cancer treatment and surgeries, there is a range of issues to contend with, but experts say that with careful management, these goals can be met. “Ms. Over the past few years, breast conservation has now become the norm when it comes to treating breast cancer, with a range of advanced treatment options available. Dr. The unaffected breast can usually compensate. One of the leading misconceptions among patients is that breastfeeding can increase recurrence risks of breast cancer, but studies suggest otherwise. Results, infact, provided the first evidence that breastfeeding after breast cancer is feasible and safe in young women who want this option, stated an ESMO press release .
Because it can cause fibrosis and damage to the milk-producing glands and ducts, so the treated breast may produce little or no milk, gupta further explained that it was not surgery, but radiotherapy that is the bigger limiting factor in breastfeeding after cancer,. For thousands of women in India today , where the burden of cancer is on the rise, and breast cancer is increasingly prevalent among young women — nearly 2 lakh new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the country — being able to begin families and breastfeed their infants, giving them the best available form of nutrition , is a challenge. Two international studies presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in 2024, showed no increase in recurrence or new breast cancers in women who breastfeed after being treated for breast cancer.
Bhattacharya’s pregnancy was precious, as it came through after a lot of hardships and after the roughest patch in her life,” said her treating doctor, Arunava Roy, head of department and senior consultant – gynaecologic oncology, Manipal Hospital, Kolkata. The mental load of going through years of painful medical procedures was one of the hardest battles for the survivor, according to both doctor and patient. “With new surgical techniques, breast conservation surgeries preserve most of the breast tissue, ducts and nipple–areola complex, so the remaining breast can still respond to pregnancy hormones and undergo lactogenesis,” said Jyoti Gupta, consultant, breast surgery, HCG Cancer Centre, Kolkata.
After a cancer diagnosis, women who have not yet started their families, must be given the option for fertility preservation, say doctors. Options such as embryo freezing before cancer treatment is begun may be considered under medical guidance. Other fertility preservations techniques including oocyte and ovarian-tissue cryopreservation may also be explored before treatment begins. When it comes to breastfeeding, doctors say that after surviving cancer it may pose difficulties, but it can be done under the right medical conditions and with guidance from doctors. It is a common misconception that every woman who has survived cancer has to give up on breastfeeding, they say.
If a woman is of childbearing age, doctors note that medical advice on childbearing and breastfeeding post cancer recovery must be given before she goes through the treatment process, so that the patient knows her options for the future.
