The story is very complicated, so I'll let the LLLL's words speak, then
I'll ask questions...

 The mother said her breastfed baby daughter, seven months old, had been
diagnosed with cancer.  The mother said she'd felt a lump in her daughter's
abdomen since shortly after birth, but the doctor told her that sometimes
different muscles develop at different rates and not to worry about it.  As
time went by and the lump grew, the doctor continued to discount the
mother's concern.  Finally at 6 ½ months, the doctor ordered an ultrasound
of the baby's abdomen "just to put the mother's mind at rest."  The
ultrasound showed a grapefruit-sized lump!

Surgery was performed and the lump removed. The lump weighed four pounds! 
The baby girl who used to weigh 15 pounds now only weighed 11 pounds. 
Pathology confirmed that the lump was cancerous.  Shortly afterward another
small spot was found on the baby's lung which was also removed and found to
be cancerous.  The type of cancer (germ cell tumors aka yolk sac tumors)
was one that has never been reported in a child before and the doctors
suspect that the usual follow-up chemotherapy, if they can even determine
what the dosage would be for such a tiny baby, will leave the baby deaf. 

During all this, the absentee father has returned and charged the mother
with child-abuse (for letting this happen) and the hospital can't let the
mother see the baby. 

 And to make it worse, the oncologist doesn't believe breast milk might be
important to a baby undergoing chemotherapy and having her immune system
destroyed!   The reason she called me is that the hospital is  refusing the
mother's pumped milk. 

 But chemotherapy starts tomorrow, and the mother wants the nutrition and
immunities of breast milk to help fight the terrible side effects.

Anything lactnetters can find on the importance of breast milk during
chemotherapy would be great!  (We've got the article from Discover magazine
that reports on breastmilk killing cancer cells.)

Please pray for this mother and her baby!

_____

Does anyone have any information this Leader can provide the mom?

Thanks!

Jeanette Panchula, RN, IBCLC
Vacaville, CA

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