Does pregnancy increase the odds that cancer will recur?
Current research shows the connection between pregnancy and recurrence is not as strong as once previously believed, even in breast cancers sensitive to hormones. One study even suggests that pregnancy may help ward off cancer. What’s more, except for rare hereditary cancers, children of survivors don’t have higher rates of birth defects or cancer. How long should a woman wait after cancer treatment to try to become pregnant? Though doctors disagree on this waiting period, “the gold standard” is two years because that’s when a woman is most likely to have a recurrence, and treating cancer during pregnancy can be hard. Women who need to take drugs like tamoxifen, which can be dangerous to a fetus, must wait until their five-year course of treatment is over. Others need time for surgical healing. The basic rule is that a woman should talk to her physician to make a decision. How does cancer affect fertility? In most cases it’s the treatment rather than the cancer itself that can affect f
