Last April, Rachel Brown’s oncologist called telling her she had
an aggressive form of breast cancer. The next day, she found out
she was pregnant.
Although Brown has always said that she didn’t want an abortion,
there was a possibility that she would have to due to her cancer. If
she had chemotherapy, which she needed to stop the cancer from
spreading, the treatment could harm her baby. If she didn’t, the
cancer would kill her.
For Brown and others in the category of women who receive a cancer
diagnosis when they are pregnant, the Supreme Court decision in June,
ending the constitutional right to an abortion, could cause
immeasurable harm.
One in a thousand women who get pregnant each year are diagnosed
with cancer, meaning they will most likely face a possibly fatal
disease while expecting a baby.
Before the Supreme Court’s decision, a pregnant woman with cancer
was already “entering a world with tremendous unknowns,” said Dr.
Clifford Hudis, the chief executive officer at the American Society of
Clinical Oncology. Now patients, doctors, and hospitals that treat
pregnant people diagnosed with cancer are caught up in the added
complications of abortion bans.
“If a doctor can’t give a drug without fear of damaging a fetus,
is that going to compromise outcomes?” Dr. Hudis said, “It’s a whole
new world.”
40% of women that have cancer while being pregnant were diagnosed
with breast cancer. The other 60% of women have blood cancers,
cervical and ovarian cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, melanoma, brain
cancer, thyroid cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
Women with cancers such as acute leukemia often can’t continue
with a pregnancy if they were diagnosed in the first trimester. They
must be treated immediately after being diagnosed, and the drugs
necessary for a less risky recovery are toxic to fetuses.
Brown was torn between two decisions. She could either sacrifice
her own life or have an abortion later on.
In the end, she decided to have a medical abortion. She took pills
one morning when she was six weeks pregnant, and wrote a eulogy for
the baby, which she named Hope. She also saved the ultrasound of
Hope’s heartbeat.
“I don’t take that little life lightly,” Brown said.
After terminating her pregnancy, Brown was able to start treatment
with trastuzumab, along with a cocktail of chemotherapy drugs and
radiation. She had a mastectomy, and there was no evidence of cancer
at the time of her surgery, which is a prognostic sign. She also
didn’t need to have all of her lymph nodes removed and did not develop
lymphedema.
“I feel like it has taken a lot of courage to do what I did. As a
mother, your first instinct is to protect the baby,” Brown said.
The Supreme Court’s decision to ban abortions hit her hard.
She said, “I felt like the reason I did what I did didn’t matter.
My life didn’t matter, and my children’s lives didn’t matter. It
didn’t matter if I lost my life because I was forced to be pregnant.”
an aggressive form of breast cancer. The next day, she found out
she was pregnant.
Although Brown has always said that she didn’t want an abortion,
there was a possibility that she would have to due to her cancer. If
she had chemotherapy, which she needed to stop the cancer from
spreading, the treatment could harm her baby. If she didn’t, the
cancer would kill her.
For Brown and others in the category of women who receive a cancer
diagnosis when they are pregnant, the Supreme Court decision in June,
ending the constitutional right to an abortion, could cause
immeasurable harm.
One in a thousand women who get pregnant each year are diagnosed
with cancer, meaning they will most likely face a possibly fatal
disease while expecting a baby.
Before the Supreme Court’s decision, a pregnant woman with cancer
was already “entering a world with tremendous unknowns,” said Dr.
Clifford Hudis, the chief executive officer at the American Society of
Clinical Oncology. Now patients, doctors, and hospitals that treat
pregnant people diagnosed with cancer are caught up in the added
complications of abortion bans.
“If a doctor can’t give a drug without fear of damaging a fetus,
is that going to compromise outcomes?” Dr. Hudis said, “It’s a whole
new world.”
40% of women that have cancer while being pregnant were diagnosed
with breast cancer. The other 60% of women have blood cancers,
cervical and ovarian cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, melanoma, brain
cancer, thyroid cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
Women with cancers such as acute leukemia often can’t continue
with a pregnancy if they were diagnosed in the first trimester. They
must be treated immediately after being diagnosed, and the drugs
necessary for a less risky recovery are toxic to fetuses.
Brown was torn between two decisions. She could either sacrifice
her own life or have an abortion later on.
In the end, she decided to have a medical abortion. She took pills
one morning when she was six weeks pregnant, and wrote a eulogy for
the baby, which she named Hope. She also saved the ultrasound of
Hope’s heartbeat.
“I don’t take that little life lightly,” Brown said.
After terminating her pregnancy, Brown was able to start treatment
with trastuzumab, along with a cocktail of chemotherapy drugs and
radiation. She had a mastectomy, and there was no evidence of cancer
at the time of her surgery, which is a prognostic sign. She also
didn’t need to have all of her lymph nodes removed and did not develop
lymphedema.
“I feel like it has taken a lot of courage to do what I did. As a
mother, your first instinct is to protect the baby,” Brown said.
The Supreme Court’s decision to ban abortions hit her hard.
She said, “I felt like the reason I did what I did didn’t matter.
My life didn’t matter, and my children’s lives didn’t matter. It
didn’t matter if I lost my life because I was forced to be pregnant.”
