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gonneke van veldhuizen <[log in to unmask]> writes:


Dear friends,

I have permission to post from this desparate mom.
3.5 yo 3-sips-a-day breastfeeding boy is diagnosed with leukemia type ALL. = The child's pediater thinks continuing breastfeeding is a bad idea. He does= n't have literature to back it up, but states that the elevated infection r= isk from decreased white bloodcells excludes breastfeeding. Also the possib= le sores in his mouth would be touched by his moms milk and that is suppose= dly bad.=A0 In short, the ped is convinced that breastfeeding is the best p= ossible for healthy kids, but not for sick ones.
Mom, being a LLL Leader, of course knows this probably is a bunch of nonsen= se and is reaching out for literature to back up the beneficial aspects of = human milk on cancer and the anti-inflammatory and anti-infective propertie= s of breastmilk. The latter I can provide, but the aspects on cancer treatm= ent are less easy to find, especially directed to childhood leukemia.
Who of you wise guys and gals can help me and Mom out?

Another question that arose was: what about chemo treatment in the boy and = what if he nurses and mom has a nipple crack and some of the chemo stuff co= mes into mom? Mom is newly pregnant again and would this be a possible risk=  for the fetus?

Warmly,

Gonneke, IBCLC, MOM, retired LLLL still being collegue-consulted in Souther= n Netherlands
_____________________________________________________________

Because of the location of my new job, I have been trying to gather information on breastmilk and its benefits to children with cancer.  I have found a few things, and all I can say is it definitely will not hurt anything and may even be a big help.  So many of our patients are very immunocompromised, and this is where I see human milk really being a benefit for these children.

As far as the chemo being a risk to mom....this seems very far fetched.  First of all, a mom who has been nursing 3.5 years most likely would not get a crack on her nipple, and even if she did, the small amount of saliva that would enter into mom's breast/body would be so minor.  The risk here seems to be really far-fetched.  Benefit FAR outweighs risk here, I would think.

If you haven't seen this article in the current issure of the J of Human Lactation, it is encouraging:

Qualitative Analysis of Cancer Patients' Experiences Using Donated Human Milk
J Hum Lact. 25(2):211-219

Susanne M. Rough, MS, RD, Pauline Sakamoto, MS, PHN, RN,
Caroline H. Fee, MA, and Clarie B. Hollenbeck, PhD

Abstract:
This represents the first published account from the patient's perspective of the use of human milk as cancer therapy. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 10 participants. Five were patients and 5 were family proxies. Individual interviews were conducted using confirmatory interviewing technique to obtain individual perspectives on the motivation for cancer patients to take donated human milk. Human milk therapy improved the quality of life (QOL) measures in the physical, psychological, and spiritual domains for most patients interviewed. The patients continued their use of human milk despite cost, taste, and discouragement from the conventional medical community. The study results support
the theory that QOL may be more important to cancer patients than cancer outcomes and may improve patient medical care overall. These interviews offer information to cancer patients, their practitioners, and donor milk banks on outcomes and symptom relief from this therapy.

All the best,
Ginger

Virginia Carney, RD, LDN, IBCLC, RLC, FILCA
Director, Clinical Nutrition
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place, Mail Stop 732
Memphis, TN 38105-3678
901-595-3315 (office)
pager 595-3578, PIN# 0838
[log in to unmask]

Finding cures.  Saving children.
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