Pregnancy is one of the most fulfilling and exciting times of a woman’s life. It is filled with memorable moments and cherished memories which makes the journey to motherhood all the more enjoyable. The body undergoes drastic changes, and finally brings a whole new life on to this earth, which is nothing short of a miracle. Although pregnancy is quite a straightforward process in spite of being such a complicated one, sometimes some abnormalities may arise which have harmful effects on both the mother and the child. The minor problems of pregnancy may include occasional pains, sickness and other such mild atrocities which may be treated with proper care and medication. But sometimes some major problems may arise, having serious consequences, and the treatment for these diseases have to be done carefully, keeping the overall health of the mother and child in mind. One such severe disease which can affect pregnancy is cancer.
Cancer is undoubtedly one of the most dreaded diseases that any one can be diagnosed with. It is the condition where some of the normal body cells get mutated into harmful cancer cell. Cancer cells are characterised by their inability to control their behaviour, which makes them divide uncontrollably and consume every other type of cells in their way. This results in the formation of a tumor, which helps spread the cancer further into the body. Cancer can happen in any organ of the body and can spread very fast via blood. Earlier it was thought to be incurable and was considered to be very fatal, but nowadays, with the advancement of medicines, cancer can be kept in check and even cured. There are even medicine for oncology while pregnant, which can safely control the growth of cancer without having any harmful side effect on the expecting mother or the foetus.
How to continue with the treatment?
Cancer may be diagnosed before or even during pregnancy. If the patient has been already diagnosed with cancer before pregnancy, regardless of whether she had chemotherapy treatment before or not, such radiation treatment cannot continue while pregnant. If the mother is diagnosed with some form of cancer after pregnancy, she cannot start chemotherapy treatment. This is because the harmful radiation which is used to destroy the cancer cells are known to also severely hamper the development of the foetus inside the womb, especially in the first trimester or the initial three months of pregnancy.
Even though chemotherapy treatment can still be given to mothers who are in the second or third trimester of their pregnancy if the need arises, targeted treatment procedures like hormone therapy and radiation therapy are to avoided altogether. Recent studies have shown that some drugs like carboplatin and docetaxal have almost no side effects during the first trimester, whereas other drugs like vincristine and cisplatine are safer to take during later stages. In reality, the research for oncology in pregnancy medicine and treatments is still inconclusive, and extreme care should be taken when following any of the treatment methods.
