Thyroid cancer occurs in women in their 30s and 40s, and many women have not yet had children or are still planning to have children when they develop the disease. The first thing you need to do is to get a new baby, but you’re stuck with a dilemma: When is the best time to get pregnant? Do I need to take medication if I am pregnant? Will thyroid cancer be passed on to the baby? Here are some answers for patients who are concerned about these questions.
Choosing the right day to get pregnant? There is a time for pregnancy
There is no evidence that having a baby after being cured of thyroid cancer will have an adverse effect on your condition and your child. So, when is the right time to get pregnant?
- After the tumor has been removed through regular surgery, pregnancy can be considered about six months to a year after surgery to ensure that the tumor has not recurred.
- Patients who require radioactive iodine (131I) therapy after surgery need to consult with the nuclear medicine physician who performed the radioactive iodine therapy to determine the timing of pregnancy in conjunction with the dose and frequency of radioactive iodine (131I) therapy. In general, women should not become pregnant until 12 months after radioactive iodine (131I) treatment, and men should not have children until 6 months after. According to the literature, radioactive iodine (131I) treatment for thyroid cancer is safe and generally does not affect fertility.
- For patients with thyroid cancer who have been told by their doctor that they only need follow-up (e.g., microscopic papillary carcinoma <1 cm in diameter with no metastases), pregnancy may also be an option after a rigorous evaluation by a specialist if the disease has not progressed over time and all physical indicators are at normal levels.
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If you are pregnant, this medication should never be stopped!
As a medication to replenish the body’s thyroid hormones and inhibit the recurrence of thyroid cancer, levothyroxine sodium tablets do not usually affect the fetus at normal doses. Some mothers stop taking the medication for fear that it will affect their fetus. This is because blind discontinuation of the medication may lead to hypothyroidism (hypothyroidism), which can affect the mental development of the fetus during pregnancy and may even lead to miscarriage in severe cases.
To avoid affecting the normal growth and development of the fetus, it is recommended that patients with thyroid cancer be followed up during pregnancy and that thyroid function be monitored closely. During the first half of pregnancy (1 to 20 weeks), thyroid function is monitored every 2 to 4 weeks. After serum thyrotropin stabilizes, thyroid function can be tested every 4 weeks until 20 weeks; then at least once during the stage of 26 to 32 weeks.
It is important to note that certain foods (e.g., dairy products, soy milk, etc.) and the intake of supplements commonly used during pregnancy (e.g., calcium, iron, etc.) can interfere with the absorption of medications (levothyroxine sodium tablets) and should be taken at adequate intervals from medications. Foods containing coumarins (e.g. grapefruit, orange, tangerine, etc.) can interfere with the action of the drug (levothyroxine sodium tablets) and should be reduced or avoided.
Can I still breastfeed if I take the medication?
Taking levothyroxine sodium tablets during pregnancy and during breastfeeding does not interfere with breastfeeding.
Adequate amounts of thyroxine in the mother are necessary for normal breastfeeding, and studies have shown that the amount of drug transferred to the infant through breastfeeding is minimal and insufficient to affect the child or to suppress the child’s own thyroid hormone production. Therefore, the use of levothyroxine sodium tablets during postpartum breastfeeding is safe and should not be discontinued at will due to breastfeeding. Patients can consult their physicians about how to monitor and adjust the dosage during breastfeeding.
Does thyroid cancer run in families? Doctors: Specific analysis needed
While the most common types of thyroid cancer (including: papillary thyroid cancer and follicular carcinoma) are not hereditary, 25% of medullary thyroid cancers are hereditary medullary thyroid cancers. Related studies have shown that the risk of thyroid cancer in first-degree relatives of patients with medullary thyroid cancer increases 5-10 times. Therefore, patients with medullary thyroid cancer are advised to consult a doctor before having children, inform the entire family history and ask for advice. For example, targeted relevant tests, genetic screening, etc.