Radiotherapy and Lactation?

Hi 

There is some info about breast cancer during pregnancy & breastfeeding here (link) it mentions about breast feeding during/after radiotherapy.

I'm assuming you had a WLE (lumpectomy) ? Even if you are still able to produce milk from the affected breast Breast Cancer Care says 'Breastfeeding from a breast previously exposed to radiotherapy can cause mastitis (infection) and this can be difficult to treat.'

Hope this is of some help, G n' J

Just corrected that - I typed dermatitis and it should have been mastitis...

Thank you, Dreamthief!

The doctor is stressed about doing the therapy if I am lactating because she said my breast size will change.  I have seen anecdotes where women continue to breastfeed from the unaffected breast, so trying to get a sense of if this is just a doctor preference?  Or is there a sound medical reason that women shouldn't continue to breastfeed from the unaffected breast during radiotherapy?

Hi

If you have been breast feeding for a while and you are in any doubt maybe now is the time you could change to formula ?

Although unlikely to affect the 'good' breast; to be honest I have no idea how radiation would affect the poorly breast that is producing milk though ?

It may be a situation your doctor/oncologist hasn't come across this before and is at a loss as how to advise you.

G n' J

Hi , haven’t had experience of radiotherapy while breastfeeding. But I did have a painful problem with one breast long ago while breastfeeding my 9 month old. It was diagnosed as duct ectasia I think, and needed no treatment - I was just advised to stop breastfeeding. So I stopped feeding on that side but carried on with the other breast for a further 9 months. The ‘bad’ side never leaked, it just seemed to stop producing milk. I wonder if you would be the same? When I had my next baby I fed from both breasts no bother for 2 years.

However from a different perspective, having recently had radiotherapy on my left breast after lumpectomy, WLE and node sampling, I have ended up with lympheodema in that breast so it’s bigger than the other one in spite of being scooped out. The lympheodema has reduced in response to more supportive bras and Nordic walking, but at the start it felt very like early days of breastfeeding when they were engorged and swollen. Maybe the doctor is afraid that you’ll be more at risk of a worse reaction to radiotherapy if you’re lactating even if feeding only from the other breast? I suspect they simply have no experience of it and are worried that you could have worse side effects. 

My other thought is to contact organisations like the National Childbirth Trust and La Leche League (if it still exists) as they are keen to encourage  breastfeeding and just might have come across this. Sorry can’t really help, this will at least bump up your thread again and someone else might have experience of this. Good luck with it all, love and hugs, HFxx