HEALTH COLUMN: UPMC Experts: Breast Cancer Screenings Important During Pregnancy
Receiving the news that you’re pregnant can bring about many emotions, and in the weeks and months that follow, many mothers-to-be concentrate on picking a name, preparing their home for the baby, attending appointments, and ensuring they’re doing all that is necessary for their baby’s and their health. But one aspect of a woman’s health often gets missed during pregnancy – their regularly scheduled preventative breast cancer screenings. Although breast cancer diagnosis in pregnancy is rare, it can happen. In the attached column, Susan Branton, M.D., and Kathryn Swatkowski, C.N.M., UPMC Magee-Womens in northcentral Pennsylvania, discuss why screening is important, how to conduct a self-exam, and how to talk to your provider about your risk and screening recommendations.
By: Susan Branton, M.D., and Kathryn Swatkowski, C.N.M.
UPMC Magee-Womens, UPMC in North Central Pa.
Receiving the news that you’re pregnant can bring about many emotions, and in the weeks and months that follow, many mothers-to-be concentrate on picking a name, preparing their home for the baby, attending appointments, and ensuring they’re doing all that is necessary for their baby’s and their health. But one aspect of a woman’s health often gets missed during pregnancy – their regularly scheduled preventative breast cancer screenings.
Although breast cancer diagnosis is rare in pregnant women, and the cancer is not caused by the pregnancy, it can happen. Breast cancer is found in about 1 in every 3,000 pregnant women. It is the most common type of cancer found during pregnancy.
A woman’s body undergoes significant changes due to the normal hormone changes of pregnancy which can include larger, denser, tender, or lumpy breasts which can make it difficult to detect breast cancer in pregnant or nursing women. Additionally, many women will put off mammograms and other screenings while pregnant or breastfeeding for fear of radiation exposure.
Because of these challenges, when a pregnant woman develops breast cancer, it’s often diagnosed at a later stage than it usually is in women who are not pregnant. Simply put, regular breast exams should be part of prenatal and postnatal care.
