Breast Cancer Survivors Can Still Breastfeed, Experts Say

Breast cancer survivors often face questions about breastfeeding post-treatment. While many can successfully breastfeed, the experience may vary due to the effects of surgery, radiation, and medications on milk production and safety. Dr. Preetha Joshi, a consultant intensificist, explains that the extent of cancer and treatment modality significantly influence breastfeeding capabilities.

Procedures like lumpectomies or mastectomies, especially when combined with radiation, can permanently alter a breast's ability to lactate by damaging milk-producing structures and causing scarring. Even if a breast appears physically intact, its functional capacity for milk production might be compromised, shifting the focus to which breast can produce milk and in what quantity.

Having a mastectomy on one side does not necessarily end breastfeeding. The unaffected breast may still produce sufficient milk for the baby, a concept Dr. Joshi simplifies as 'one breast can feed one baby.' Concerns about cancer transmission through breast milk are unfounded; there is no evidence that prior cancer makes breast milk unsafe. Similarly, breastfeeding is not associated with an increased risk of cancer recurrence.

However, ongoing cancer treatments pose different considerations. Chemotherapy, tamoxifen, and aromatase inhibitors are incompatible with breastfeeding. For women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer requiring endocrine therapy, a temporary pause in treatment may be necessary to allow for breastfeeding, a decision that must be made in consultation with their oncology team and carefully balanced against cancer control needs.

Discussions about breastfeeding potential should ideally occur before pregnancy, as decisions depend on cancer type, treatment history, current medications, and individual circumstances. Ultimately, the success of breastfeeding post-cancer is not uniform; it can range from exclusive nursing with one breast to supplementing with formula, or even a temporary inability to breastfeed due to ongoing treatment.