Do breast cancer patients need to have an abortion if they get pregnant?

Should pregnant breast cancer patients have abortions? Perhaps many people would think that if breast cancer is discovered during pregnancy, the pregnancy should be terminated. There is actually no "one size fits all" approach to this issue. If breast cancer is discovered in early pregnancy, it is best to terminate the pregnancy. However, if breast cancer is discovered in the second or third trimester, treatment options can be selected based on the specific situation, and termination of pregnancy is not necessary.

It should be emphasized that continuing the pregnancy does not mean leaving breast cancer alone. Patients must actively control the development of breast cancer through chemotherapy or surgery. So, will the treatment have an impact on the fetus? Currently, the main means of treating breast cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy and targeted therapy. Different treatments have different effects on the fetus. Among them, radiotherapy and endocrine therapy have the greatest impact on fetal development, so they should be avoided throughout the pregnancy; while chemotherapy can be performed in the middle and late stages of pregnancy, and has little effect on the fetus.

Should pregnant breast cancer patients have abortions? For breast cancer patients who are not pregnant yet, whether they can get pregnant depends on whether they still have the opportunity and ability to get pregnant. Because chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, etc. all have an impact on ovarian function, it is not easy for breast cancer patients to get pregnant. Studies have shown that breast cancer patients who have children after surgery have a better prognosis than those who have not. There are many reasons for this difference, but at least it shows that breast cancer patients should not give up their right to be mothers because of concerns about the risk of recurrence.

In terms of breast cancer prevention, although we cannot change some breast cancer risk factors such as age and genetics, we can still reduce the incidence of breast cancer by changing our diet and lifestyle habits, including breastfeeding, avoiding multiple abortions, limiting high-fat diet, exercising more, and other healthy lifestyles.