Black To Life… For A Healthier You

Women have been blessed with many innate gifts, and the investigative mind is especially valuable. Here’s a situation it should always be applied to: Although pregnant women typically experience swollen and tender breasts, it is important to pay special attention to any lumps that are discovered.

If you find a lump in your breast while pregnant, it doesn’t mean you have cancer — but it should be reported to your doctor and examined immediately. Don’t wait until after you have the baby. Mothers-to-be may worry that, should cancer be diagnosed, the treatment will harm the fetus or be ineffective. However, most initial treatments would include a mammogram, and small studies have shown that mammograms are fairly safe during pregnancy.

Most mammograms do not require a lot of radiation. For extra protection when having a mammogram while pregnant, a small lead shield is placed on the belly to block any possible radiation scatter. Ultrasound is considered a safer tool to see

inside the breast, and is usually performed before a mammogram to evaluate a palpable lump. One method of examining the breast that has not shown adequate evidence of safety is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Women who are pregnant should not be alarmed if a lump is identified and their doctor requests a biopsy. Only a small portion of tissue is taken from the identified lump for further examination — and when performed on pregnant women, there is little risk to the baby. Even if a biopsy is performed under general anesthesia if needed, there is just a small risk to the baby. This is a conversation mothers need to have with their doctors before agreeing to the procedure.

The Las Vegas All Women’s Care is here to provide excellent prenatal care.