Excellent article on breast cancer treatment during pregnancy

Great article! Prints out at nine pages.

With Child, With Cancer - NYTimes.com

LIZETTE IRVIN, HEAVILY PREGNANT, reclined on a hospital bed, relaxed, considering the circumstances. A bag of fluid dripped into her blood through an IV line as Irvin sucked on ice cubes, trying to pass the time. The ice helped to minimize the metallic taste and heat in her mouth from 5-fluorouracil, an antimetabolite, which entered her bloodstream via a catheter inserted in her chest. It was June 16, Irvin’s fourth round of chemotherapy. She was 32 weeks pregnant and had breast cancer.

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Breast-cancer treatment has made huge strides since then, and a considerable amount of research shows that termination does not improve a pregnant woman’s prognosis. Yet many pregnant women are still refused treatment unless they abort. “Some doctors may be concerned about hurting the baby or the mother,” says Dr. Richard Theriault, an oncologist at M. D. Anderson, where he oversees a team specializing in the treatment of pregnant women with breast cancer. “Or they’re concerned there will be some medical catastrophe and they’ll be liable. Some just don’t want to tackle the issue because it’s complicated.”