The question was raised concerning using Anticancer or Chemotherapeutic
agents in lactating women.  As a group,  we know very little about their
transfer into human milk, primarily because they are seldom needed in this
age group,  and most physicians would never consider letting the mom
continue lactating while undergoing chemotherapy anyway,  so in essence,  we
have very little data upon which to make decisions.

Chemotherapeutic drugs by nature,  are most toxic to rapidly growing cells,
thats how they migrate to cancer cells,  and kill them selectively.  But in
reality,  they kill the cancer cells, JUST  before they kill the host,  and
thats the major problem with this family of drugs.   But more importantly,
the human infant is a rapidly growing,  exceeding sensitive organism that is
incredibly sensitive to these drugs,  particularly their GI tract.

The next question is whether a mom can pump and dump after exposure to these
compounds.  Again,  I don't have a good answer.  Even though many compounds
are rapidly cleared from the mom's plasma,  they are known to enter deeper
compartments(tumors),  and could conceivably bleed from these compartments
into the mom's plasma, then to her milk over a period of weeks,  thus
exposing the infant to sustained low levels for long periods.

The whole reason for breastfeeding an infant is to impart a significant
number of healthy components to that infant... such as live cells,
interferon, lactoferrin,  etc.  I don't think that exposing an infant to
chemotherapeutic agents, however low their concentrations may be,  is a good
idea.   I know that such a statement may be heresy amongst this group,  but
in this case,  it is better to err on the side of the infant.

TWH