Amarillo doctor optimistic for pregnancy in breast cancer survivors

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - An Amarillo doctor is now more optimistic about breast cancer survivors having children after recent research shows pregnancy did not increase the risk of having the cancer reoccur.

Before, pregnancy in breast cancer survivors was always scary due to the rise in estrogen and progesterone pregnancy causes.

Dr. Teresa Baker, an OBGYN professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center says women who become pregnant after being treated for breast cancer don’t have a higher risk of the cancer coming back.

One Amarillo woman is living proof that children after beating breast cancer is possible.

“I was 30 at the time, and I found a lump in my breast. I had it check out and come to find out, after biopsies and ultrasounds, that it was stage 2A ductal carcinoma,” said Amber Wyatt, mother and breast cancer survivor.

After beating and making an 100 percent recovery from breast cancer, Amber and her husband got pregnant with their son Israel.

“In my career I’ve had the opportunity to deliver two or three women who have been breast cancer survivors. Handing her that newborn baby, knowing she’s going to be around to see that baby go to school, get married and have grandchildren is a really wonderful, hopeful message for a young mother who has been given a diagnosis as scary as breast cancer,” said Dr. Baker.

Amber is one of those women.

Dr. Baker says this first of its kind research is providing hope to young women diagnosed with breast cancer still wanting to have children.

“What this study shows is that women who have been treated for those cancers with estrogen and progesterone receptors, completed their treatment and had pregnancies, that those pregnancies were healthy and that their recurrence risk of breast cancer was no different than their counterparts that did not get pregnant,” said Dr. Baker.

Now, Amber says she is living proof that it can happen.

“It’s been almost three years. March 18 will be three years since I’ve had him. Just, if they want to have children, just to try and stay healthy, keep healthy. Make sure you go to your follow ups and just try because it can happen,” said Wyatt.

Dr. Baker says her biggest take away is for women to get the care they need.

“If you hide from us, and you get diagnosed late or you have an advanced stage cancer, we don’t have a ton of options,” said Dr. Baker.

Dr. Baker hopes this first of its kind research will open itself up to more research and hopes long term research could come from this.

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