>I have a friend who has had to undergo emergency weaning of a toddler to
>have a mastectomy.

When I was researching bfing and bone density for a client a few years ago,
I ended up talking with an author of some of the papers on bone mass loss
and recovery during bfing.  One of his main points was that we really don't
know what "normal" bone mass is for young women - he said there simply are
no real data on the normal range.  So whenever anyone tells a young woman
her bone density is dangerously low, he's largely guessing.

If this woman's nursing a toddler, odds are her bone mass has already
started rebounding anyway.  Makes sense to me to supplement with calcium/D,
but I doubt that there's a real reason to worry.

Also, she needs to know she needn't wean permanently for chemo unless she so
chooses.  She can wean temporarily for each round.  Depending on the
toddler's interest in nursing, those periodic weanings may not matter, and
he may look forward eagerly to nursing again at the end of the week (or
whatever her meds dictate), whether or not there'll be milk present.

Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC  Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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