Breastfeeding after treatment

medinorth

I hope this is the most appropiate category for my question. I couldn't think of anything else. 

What is the minimum amount of time a woman can breastfeed after chemo/radiation?  

leggo

Your onc would probably be the best person to ask, and everything I've ever read seems to indicate that it's o.k. to resume after sufficient time has elapsed to have the chemo toxins leave your body (I seem to remember 3 months) but after radiation, I wouldn't, ever. A bunch of altered cells is not what I'd want to expose my baby to, but that's JMO.

Cynthia1962

I can not find anything specific related to how soon after finishing chemo that it's safe to begin breastfeeding.  I would ask your onc.  What I did find, though, says that most chemo agents are fast acting and you should be able to breastfeed fairly soon after finishing tx.   As for radiation, if you are having only one breast radiated, it is safe to nurse on the unradiated breast.  If you want to attempt to nurse on the radiated breast, you would need to have the milk from that breast tested for radioactivity by your radiology center and they can tell you when it has reached a normal level.  Some moms find that they can not produce enough milk in the radiated breast, but others don't have an issue.  Good luck!