Those breast cancer patients who are still young, and have completed their treatment are not required to wait for the stipulated two years, post-treatment, to plan a family, suggest Australian scientists.
Previously, young breast cancer patients were advised to wait for two years before contemplating conception, but novel insight has indicated, this is not mandatory.Angela Ives of the University of Western Australia said, 'For women with localized disease and a good prognosis, conception six months after treatment is unlikely to reduce survival.'
The two-year delay is recommended as a safeguard in cases of reappearance of cancer or to enable time for the completion of treatment, especially after surgery. The waiting period is mandated for women undergoing chemotherapy or for those in advanced stage of breast cancer, but certainly not a universal guideline for young patients suffering breast cancer.
This finding was revealed after a study involving 123 young breast cancer sufferers, who went through atleast one pregnancy after they were diagnosed with cancer. Nearly 50% successfully conceived within two years. The researchers also found that women, who had conceived early, experienced better survival rates as compared to those who didn't.
'In our study there was a definite protective effect for women who waited at least six months to conceive. We would expect that this result would become more significant if more women conceived 6-24 months after treatment,' Angela Ives added.
Source-Medindia
SAV
