Spin-off from owensmom's thread...

[Dragonfly]

I wanted to ask this question, but didn't want to interrupt the flow of support for owensmom.

Since nursing is supposed to reduce the chance of breast cancer and breastmilk, itself, has (I believe) been shown to be an effective treatment against some types of cancer, would it be beneficial for a nursing mother to continue to pump for as long as she could during treatment, even if she couldn't nurse her child because of radiation treatments?

I'm not sure of the mechanics of it all, and would be very interested in some discussion on the topic if anyone does know.

[Dallasmama]

What an interesting idea. I actually had the same thought when I read one of the posts suggesting remedies to dry up Owensmom's milk supply. It does seem that breastmilk running through the breasts would somehow help "cleanse" the breast.

[doulamomvicki]

From what I have read, the answer to continued pumping would be no. The reasons given were because milk production takes away mom's own nutrients/immunity and these need to stay with her during radiation, chemo, etc for her own benefit. I was surprised by this because from a physiological standpoint continued pumping to me made sense.

[pamamidwife]

I have heard of many people that undergo chemo and other harsh cancer treatmetns drinking breastmilk to help with their immune system. Perhaps she needs some mamas to pump for her!

[lorijds]

YES! Especially colostrum or milk from a mama with a young infant; it will be higher in antibodies, and would help protect her from infection. Owensmom would be susceptible to infection, though, so a mom who was donating breastmilk would have to be free from any chronic illness (hepatitis, HIV) that could potentially be passed in the milk. Also, the mama couldn't be on any drugs, including nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine, as these drugs could interfere with the action of any chemo agents. But how wonderful to be drinking breastmilk from a friend when you are going through a tough time. Not only good for you physically; but also to be "mothered," to be nurtured as you have nurtured your own children; I would hope that would make the mama with cancer feel loved and cared for.

I think it would be draining physically to pump during chemo; also emotionally. It is hard enough to have cancer, but to have to wean a baby before you both are ready is also emotionally difficult. To continue pumping without being able to feed your child would be really difficult, in my opinion.

Plus, my understanding is it is the suppression of the hormonal levels associated with menstruation that provides the protective measures associated with the lowered incidence of breast cancer in moms who have been pregnant and lactated. After the fact doesn't really help. Just like a diet lower in fat has been shown to be protective; but switching to a lower fat hasn't been shown to affect the outcome of people diagnosed with cancer. Actually, on the contrary, it is difficult enough for some people to keep weight on and gain nutrition through chemo, so some end of up on a high protein, high fat diet.

But it was a nice thought, Dragonfly. You're using your noggin and your heart. Pamamidwife's idea is a good one, too.

Lori

edited for clarity :

[tnrsmom]

Moving this to Support and Advocacy.

[nancg]

There are 2 problems with this approach. One is that nursing increases blood flow to the breasts, which makes surgery difficult and messy (and it seems to me also makes more potential for the cancer to spread, though I hate to think of it that way). Second, lactating breasts are very difficult to scan (either with MRI, ultrasound, mammogram) for tumors, so it would be hard to determine the extent of the cancer. My friend who is going through this, for example, did not know that she had several small tumors in addition to the one larger one until she had weaned the affected side.

I do agree, though, that it is too bad that any tumor-suppressing effects of breastfeeding are lost due to weaning for BC treatment. I think you have a good question, and I wonder especially if that isn't a good reason to continue nursing from the unaffected side (or pumping and dumping during chemo).

I have a friend going through this right now with an 10 month old nursling and let me tell you, we have talked through these topics a lot. She's been lucky that at least at this age her daughter has been weaning quite easily.

Nancy
mom to Emily (4.5) and Hazel (1.5)