This is a homework question

[PomMom65]

Hi;

I am in an LPN - RN bridge program. I have written a paper on treating breast cancer during pregnancy. Let me start out by saying that my paper is written and turned in. I did a lot of research and cited 8 different sources. I discussed surgery, chemo and the inability to do radiation therapy. Every article that I reviewed talked about collaboration between multiple disciplines. I know this is critical. I do work on a hospice inpatient unit. I am a big fan of collaboration. My questions to you is this.... have you ever taken care of a pregnant patient that had breast cancer. If you have, was your role any different because of the multidisciplinary collaboration requirement?

Thanks

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Surgery here, not oncology. However, we did have a few years ago a situation that brought in a lot of specialists, case management, ethics committee, etc. Patient pregnant with breast cancer diagnosis. Pregnancy was early enough that general anesthesia was a huge risk to the fetus. However, patient had made a decision to abort after breast surgery completed. Because of the ethical issues involved, there was a lot of discussion between OR staff, anesthesia, surgeon, ethics, OB, social workers, and a few others. Didn't really change the role of the OR staff once everyone was in agreement about patient's care.

[PomMom65]

Thanks Rose Queen; Most of the studies that I read state that there is not any "better outcome" for mom by termination unless the cancer is late stage and requires immediate aggressive treatment; however, a lot of breast cancer diagnosis in pregnancy are delayed due to the normal physiological changes in the breast They also stated that mastectomy is the "surgery of choice" because of the inability to do radiotherapy. If Mom chooses breast conserving surgery radiation is delayed. I was really shocked to find out that you can do chemo in 2nd and 3rd trimester. Thanks so much for answering. Have a wonderful weekend.

[Tree5981, ADN, BSN, MSN]

Hello,

We had a patient that got pregnant while she was receiving chemotherapy. She received adriamycin, which is highly toxic to the fetus and causes deformities. She was informed of this fact and was torn about terminating the pregnancy. Eventually she decided to terminate. This is a different scenario than you may be looking for since she was already in the middle of chemotherapy while she got pregnant. Adriamycin has been shown to cause birth defects, but if a patient is a earlier stage, they have other options such as surgery and other chemos.

[OCNRN63, RN]

I did in outpatient chemo. Pregnancy went well, s complications. That was several years ago, so I don't remember any details.