Pregnant and receiving chemotherapy

It’s not what a woman imagines when she finds out that she’s pregnant, but breast cancer can strike at any time, even during pregnancy. And this is what Lizette Irvin of Houston, Texas, found out when she also first found out she was pregnant.

According to an article that appeared in the New York Times, With Child, With Cancer, when Lizette found a tender lump in her breast, she also was about to take a pregnancy test, so she almost didn’t follow up with having her breasts checked. Luckily, she did. Unluckily, she had breast cancer. Her cancer was at Stage IIB, which meant that it was more advanced than many. “She had three small tumors in one breast and the cancer had begun spreading to her lymph nodes.” After a brief thought of abortion, Lizette chose to keep her baby and to undergo chemotherapy for the duration.

At 36 weeks, Lizette delivered a healthy girl, Amelie. As for Lizette, more chemo is planned, along with the uncertainty of whether there is any long-term effects of the chemotherapy on Amelie and if Lizette will get a clean bill of health.

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Tags: pregnancy blog, breast cancer during pregnancy, chemotherapy, breast cancer, pregnant and receiveing chemotherapy