Breast cancer is rare during pregnancy.However, if you find a mass or not to notice any changes in your breast, please tell your doctor or nurse immediately.If it is suspected of having breast cancer, pregnant women can also conduct various examinations and treat breast cancer measures for pregnant women.
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Breast cancer discovered during pregnancy can be called pregnancy breast cancer or pregnancy -related breast cancer (PABC).
About one of each 3,000 pregnant women suffer from breast cancer.It is the most common type of cancer discovered during pregnancy.
The changes in hormones during pregnancy can lead to changes in breasts.They may become larger, rough and/or softer.This may make it more difficult for you or doctors to notice the lumps caused by cancer until it becomes very large.
It is difficult to find another cause of breast cancer in early pregnancy. Many women perform breast X -ray examination and delay breast cancer screening before pregnancy.Because pregnancy and breastfeeding can make the breast tissue more dense, it is more difficult to see early cancer in the breast X -ray photo.
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Due to these challenges, when pregnant women suffer from breast cancer, they are usually diagnosed in advanced stages instead of pregnancy.It is also more likely to spread to lymph nodes.
If you find the lumps or any changes in your breasts, please do not ignore it, you should tell your doctor or nurse immediately.If the doctor is not recommended to check with the breast X -ray check, please ask other types of image tests, such as ultrasonic or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).You may need to ask another doctor’s opinion.It should be checked and even biopsy (see below) before assuming that any suspicious breast change is a normal reaction to pregnancy (see below).
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One of the main problems of imaging examination during pregnancy is whether it will cause radiation in the developmental fetus and endanger the health of the fetus.
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Breast X -ray photos can be found that most breast cancer starts when women are pregnant, and it is generally believed that breast X -ray examination during pregnancy is safe.The amount of radiation required for breast X -ray photos is small.And radiation focuses on the breast, so most of it will not reach other parts of the body.For the sake of insurance, a lead cover is still placed under the abdomen to prevent radiation from reaching the uterus.Nevertheless, scientists still cannot determine whether very small dose radiation will affect unborn babies.
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Ultrasonic examinations of the breasts do not use radiation, and are generally considered to be safer during pregnancy.The inspection is relatively simple, so it is usually the first choice for evaluating breast changes (such as lumps).
MRI scanning does not use radiation, and believes that it is safer to use during pregnancy.But the angiography (dyes) used in MRI can pass through the placenta -organ connecting the mother with the fetus.In animal models, this dye is related to abnormal fetuses.Therefore, many doctors do not recommend using comparison dyes (contrast agents) during pregnancy for MRI examinations.If necessary, you can use MRI without contrast agent.
Other tests, such as PET scanning, bone scanning and computer fault scanning (CT) scanning are more likely to expose the fetus under radiation (see below).
The results of new lumps or abnormal images may attract attention, but biopsy is the only way to find out whether breast changes are cancer.During the breast biopsy, a small piece of tissue is usually taken from a suspicious area with a needle.And even if you are pregnant, this is generally completed as an outpatient surgery.Doctors use drugs to anesthesia biopsy, which involved in the breast area, which only brings small risks to the fetus.
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If the conclusion is obtained from the needle puncture biopsy, the surgical biopsy will be performed.This means that a piece of tissue is taken out through a small incision (incision) in the breast.Surgical biopsy is usually performed under the anesthesia (drugs make patients enter deep sleep), which has a small risk for the fetus.
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If breast cancer is found, you may need to perform other examinations to determine whether the cancer cells have spread in the breast or other parts of the body.This process is called staging.According to your situation, different installment tests may be performed.
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In summary, inspection such as ultrasound and MRI scanning does not use radiation, and it is generally believed to be safer during pregnancy.However, MRI sometimes uses radical materials (dyes), so it is usually not recommended to use during pregnancy.If necessary, you can use MRI without contrast agent.
Sometimes the chest X -ray examination is needed to help make a treatment decision.This test has only a small amount of radiation.Therefore, as long as the abdomen of pregnant women is blocked, it is also safe during pregnancy.
