Fertility and breastfeeding possible after cancer with care, experts say

Two years after surviving stage IV ovarian cancer, Baishali Bhattacharya gave birth to a healthy baby in 2024 and was able to breastfeed under medical supervision. She was operated on in 2020 and one ovary was removed. Her treating doctor, Arunava Roy of Manipal Hospital, Kolkata, called her pregnancy “precious, as it came after a lot of hardships.”

Nearly two lakh new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in India each year, and younger women increasingly face decisions about fertility and breastfeeding post-treatment, The Hindu reports. Doctors say misconceptions abound: breastfeeding does not increase cancer recurrence risk, two international studies presented at the ESMO Congress in 2024 showed. Options such as embryo freezing or oocyte cryopreservation should be offered before treatment begins.

Breast conservation surgery is now standard, and the unaffected breast usually compensates if radiotherapy damaged one side. Feeding from the treated breast may not be possible. Breastfeeding is not advised during endocrine therapy or chemotherapy. Monica Hooda, 37, of Rohtak, was initially told her breast pain was only due to breastfeeding before being diagnosed with cancer in February 2026.