Pregnancy and cancer
Being diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy can be hard. We have information to help you understand cancer during pregnancy, the treatments you may have, and how to cope with the emotional and practical issues you may experience.
On this page
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About cancer during pregnancy
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Common cancers during pregnancy
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Questions about pregnancy and cancer
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Cancer symptoms and pregnancy
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Pregnancy and cancer risk
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Diagnosing cancer while pregnant
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Your pregnancy care
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Treating cancer during pregnancy
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What treatment depends on
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Managing cancer symptoms and side effects of treatment
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Having your baby
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How we can help
About cancer during pregnancy
Finding out you have cancer is upsetting at any time. But when you are pregnant, it can be more frightening and confusing. Having cancer during pregnancy is very rare. It only happens in about 1 in 1,000 pregnancies (0.1%). When we mention cancer, this includes blood cancers such as leukaemia.
You do not have to manage this alone. There is help and support available for you. Your cancer team and pregnancy team work closely together to care for you and your baby. This includes doctors, specialist nurses, midwives and obstetricians.
Mummy’s Star is a charity that supports women and birthing people who are diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy. They can help you meet or talk to others who have been in a similar situation.
Your doctors will try to keep your cancer treatment as close as possible to what you would have if you were not pregnant. But they need to balance your health with the safety of the baby.
Making decisions about treatment during pregnancy can feel hard. As well as worrying about your own health, you may worry about the baby’s health. Your doctors and specialist nurses will give you all the information you need to help you make decisions.
Booklets and resources
Common cancers during pregnancy
Most types of cancer can happen during pregnancy, but some are more common than others. These are usually cancers that affect younger people. Some are also linked to people having children later in life.
The most common types of cancer diagnosed during pregnancy are:
Pregnancy itself does not increase the risk of developing cancer.
Questions about pregnancy and cancer
You are likely to have concerns and questions. Talk to your cancer doctor or nurse. They will help you to understand more about your individual situation.
Some common questions are:
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Can I have effective cancer treatment during pregnancy?
Research shows that if you have cancer and are pregnant, you can usually be treated as effectively as someone who is not pregnant. Doctors will try to make your treatment as similar as possible to that of someone with the same type and stage of cancer who is not pregnant. But because cancer in pregnancy is uncommon, there are not as many large trials to guide treatment options.
Sometimes you may have to avoid certain treatments or delay them until later in the pregnancy or after the birth. The right treatment for you depends on:
- the type of cancer you have
- the stage of the cancer
- how many weeks pregnant you are.
Your doctors and specialist nurses will give you all the information you need to help you make decisions about your treatment.
In certain situations, they may advise you to end the pregnancy. This is usually if the pregnancy is in its early stages and the cancer is growing very quickly. It may be essential for your health to start having a cancer treatment that is not safe for a developing baby.
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Can pregnancy make the cancer grow faster?
Doctors have researched this in different types of cancer. There is no evidence that being pregnant can make a cancer grow faster.
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Can cancer affect the baby?
It is extremely rare for cancer to affect the baby. If you are worried about this, talk to your cancer doctor or specialist nurse.
For cancer to affect a baby, the cells must pass through the barrier of the placenta. The placenta is attached to the womb during pregnancy. Oxygen and nutrients from your blood pass through the placenta to the baby. It is very rare for cancer cells to spread to the placenta and even rarer for cells to spread to the baby.
Your midwife and pregnancy doctor (obstetrician) work closely with the team treating the cancer. During pregnancy, you will have extra ultrasound scans of your baby to make sure there are no problems. If your doctor has any concerns after the baby is born, they will work with your cancer team so that the placenta is checked for cancer cells.
Related pages
Cancer symptoms and pregnancy
Pregnancy does not change the symptoms of a cancer. The symptoms depend on the type of cancer. But the changes that happen to the body during pregnancy may delay a cancer diagnosis. This is because some cancer symptoms may be similar to changes that happen during pregnancy.
In this video, Phil and Nellie share their unique experiences of being diagnosed with breast cancer and discuss some of the common misconceptions around breast cancer.
Pregnancy and cancer risk
Pregnancy does not increase the risk of cancer. The causes or risk factors depend on the type of cancer. You can read more about this in our information on different types of cancer.
Diagnosing cancer while pregnant
If your GP or pregnancy doctor thinks there may be a link between your symptoms and cancer, they will refer you to a hospital specialist. Tests to diagnose cancer can usually be done safely without harming the baby.
Coping with cancer during pregnancy
A cancer diagnosis can cause different feelings. When you are pregnant at the same time as being diagnosed with cancer, your feelings can be more complex. It may be hard to accept that cancer and pregnancy can happen together.
Taking care of yourself and getting as much support as possible, will help you cope during treatment. It also prepares you for when the baby is born.
We have more information about coping with cancer and pregnancy, and resources to help with waiting for test results.
Related pages
Your pregnancy care
During your pregnancy, you will have regular check-ups with your midwife and pregnancy doctor (obstetrician). They will check your baby’s development as well as your health. They will work closely with the cancer doctors treating you. This is so they can co-ordinate your pregnancy care alongside any tests or treatments for cancer.
You will have the usual checks and care that all pregnant women and birthing people have. But the pregnancy team will see you more often. They will do more checks, such as ultrasound scans to look at the baby.
You should still have choices about the birth. Your midwife will talk to you about this and help you make a birth plan.
Most pregnancies will go to full term (over 37 weeks) and have a normal birth. Your pregnancy and cancer teams will work together to try and make sure your pregnancy goes to term.
Related pages
Treating cancer during pregnancy
A team of specialists will meet to discuss the best possible treatment for you. This is called a multidisciplinary team (MDT). This will include a cancer doctor and nurse and your obstetrician and midwife will also be part of the MDT.
After the MDT meeting, your doctors and nurses will explain the treatment options in more detail. It can help to have a partner, family member or close friend with you for these appointments.
What treatment depends on
Your doctors consider many things before recommending the best treatment options for you. These are:
- how many weeks pregnant you are
- the type of cancer
- the stage of cancer – for example, how far it has grown or if it has spread
- if you have had treatment for cancer before
- how slowly or quickly the cancer is growing
- whether the aim of treatment is to cure the cancer or to control it.
It is important to fully understand the risks and benefits of each before you decide. You can usually take time to talk it over with a partner or family and friends and think about which options feel right for you.
We have more information about making treatment decisions during pregnancy.
People can usually have effective treatment for cancer while pregnant. It is not normally necessary to end the pregnancy unless there is a very serious risk to your health. Or you may decide to end the pregnancy for your own reasons. Whatever the reason, it is an upsetting decision to make.
Your treatment options may include:
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Monitoring the cancer
If you have a very early-stage or slow-growing cancer, your cancer doctor may advise checking (monitoring) the cancer during your pregnancy, rather than having treatment.
After the baby is born, you can start treatment. Doctors may suggest this if the cancer is not likely to change much during the rest of your pregnancy. It depends on the type of cancer you have and how many weeks pregnant you are.
Monitoring may be an option if you have:
- low-grade lymphoma or early Hodgkin lymphoma
- stage 1 cervical cancer
- chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).
If monitoring is an option, your cancer doctor and nurse will talk about it with you. They will explain the type of checks you will have.
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Chemotherapy and pregnancy
Chemotherapy is the most common cancer treatment given during pregnancy. You do not usually start chemotherapy until after you are 14 weeks pregnant. At this stage, research shows most chemotherapy drugs will not harm the baby.
Chemotherapy may be used in pregnancy to treat different types of cancer. These include, breast cancer, cervical cancer, some lymphomas and leukaemias.
We have more information about chemotherapy in pregnancy and cancers it may be used to treat.
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Surgery and pregnancy
Most operations are safe during pregnancy. Your cancer doctor and obstetrician will decide the best time for you to have surgery. If you need a general anaesthetic, surgery may be delayed until you are at least 14 weeks pregnant. Your obstetrician and an anaesthetist will explain how they check on you and the baby during surgery.
We have more information about surgery in pregnancy and which cancers it may be used to treat.
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Radiotherapy and pregnancy
Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells. It is not usually given during pregnancy as even a low dose may harm the developing baby.
If radiotherapy is urgent, it may be given to a part of the body that is not close to the womb. For example, if a tumour in the brain is causing increased pressure.
Your treatment may be adapted to leave out radiotherapy or to delay it until after the birth. We have more information about radiotherapy and pregnancy.
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Hormonal therapy and pregnancy
Hormonal therapy drugs are often used to treat breast cancer. But they are not given during pregnancy as they have a high risk of causing birth defects. Your doctor will talk to you about starting these drugs after the baby is born.
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Targeted and immunotherapy drugs and pregnancy
Most targeted and immunotherapy drugs cannot be used during pregnancy because they are harmful to the baby. Some drugs are still new, so there is not a lot of information about their effects during pregnancy.
A drug called interferon is sometimes used during pregnancy to treat melanoma or chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML).
We have more information about targeted and immunotherapy drugs and pregnancy.
You may have some treatments as part of a clinical trial.
Managing cancer symptoms and side effects of treatment
Taking care of yourself helps you to cope during treatment and after the baby is born. You may have treatment side effects or symptoms to cope with. There are different ways these can be managed.
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Feeling sick
Sickness is a common side effect of chemotherapy. It is treated with anti-sickness drugs. These are called anti-emetics. But not all anti-sickness drugs are safe to use in pregnancy.
Doctors often prescribe anti-sickness drugs called metoclopramide or ondansetron. Steroids can also treat sickness. Always contact the hospital if the anti-sickness drug you are taking is not working.
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Infection
If you get an infection, you will be given antibiotics. Most antibiotics are safe to take during pregnancy. But your doctor will avoid certain drugs, for example tetracyclines.
If you are having chemotherapy you will need to be careful about getting an infection. Your nurse will explain more about this.
A drug called G-CSF encourages the bone marrow to make white blood cells. This reduces the risk of infection. Doctors may recommend using it in pregnancy, but only if necessary. It does not seem to cause problems for the baby. But there is not a lot of information about its use in pregnancy. -
Anaemia (low number of red blood cells)
Chemotherapy or losing blood during surgery may cause anaemia. Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body. If the number of red blood cells is low, you may be tired and breathless. Tell your doctor or nurse if you feel like this.
If you are very anaemic, you may need a drip to give you extra red blood cells. This is called a blood transfusion. You can have a blood transfusion while you are pregnant.You may sometimes be offered an iron infusion. Your cancer team can tell you more about whether this is suitable for you.
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Pain
You can take different painkillers during pregnancy. But you need to check with your doctor or midwife first. If you are in pain, tell your doctor or nurse so they can prescribe you the right drug.
Steroids may also be used to reduce swelling and control pain.
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Tiredness
Feeling tired is a common side effect of chemotherapy. It is often worse towards the end of treatment and for some weeks after it has finished. Try not to do too much and plan your day so you have time to rest. Gentle exercise, like going for short walks, can give you more energy. If you feel sleepy, do not drive or operate machinery.
Having your baby
Your obstetrician, specialist cancer doctor and midwife will talk to you about the best time to have your baby. Many women carry their baby to full term and have a normal birth. You and your midwife will talk about your birth plan.
Having an earlier delivery
If you need to start a certain treatment, your baby may be delivered earlier. You may need injections of drugs called steroids before the birth. This reduces the chance of the baby having breathing problems.
The further along you are in your pregnancy, the safer it is for your baby. Most babies born from 32 weeks do well and do not have any long-term problems. They are cared for in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) or special care baby units (SCBUs).
Breastfeeding
Your specialist doctor, nurse and midwife will give you advice about breastfeeding. It depends on your treatment. For example, if your chemotherapy finished a few weeks before the birth you may be able to breastfeed straight away.
We have more information about breastfeeding and cancer treatments.
After the birth
You will still need a lot of support from your cancer and pregnancy team after the baby is born. Some women may be continuing with treatment or starting treatment. This can be difficult, especially with a newborn baby to care for.
Family, friends and a partner can usually help support you. Tell them the kind of help and support that would be best for you.
Talking to a social worker may be helpful. They may be able to arrange extra support to look after any other children.
Taking care of your well-being is important. It can help you care for your baby and cope with treatment.
This information was produced in partnership with Mummy's Star.
About our information
This information has been written, revised and edited by Macmillan Cancer Support’s Cancer Information Development team. It has been reviewed by expert medical and health professionals and people living with cancer.
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References
Below is a sample of the sources used in our pregnancy and cancer information. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at informationproductionteam@macmillan.org.uk
de Haan J, Verheecke M, et al. Oncological management and obstetric and neonatal outcomes for women diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy: a 20-year international cohort study of 1170 patients. Lancet Oncology. 2018. Vol 19 [accessed October 2023]
Public Health England, Cancer before, during and after pregnancy, National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service 2018 [accessed October 2023]
Silverstein J, Post AL, Chien AJ, Olin R, Tsai KK, Ngo Z, Van Loon K. Multidisciplinary management of cancer during pregnancy. JCO Oncol Pract. 2020 Sep;16(9):545-557. doi: 10.1200/OP.20.00077. PMID: 32910882. [accessed September 2023]
Wolters V, Heimovaara J, Maggen C, et al. Management of pregnancy in cancer Int J Gynecol Cancer 2021;31:314–322.
Reviewer
Consultant Medical Oncologist & Honorary Associate Professor
Date reviewed
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