What a sad situation, but wonderful that mom wants to give baby
whateve breastfeding she can.

As to whether engorgement will cause any problems with the tumor -
these comments are only my suspicion, NOT based on any research I
know of.
1-If pressure were going to affect the tumor, then wouldn't women be
advised not to sleep on their tummies or on that side between the
diagnosis and the tumor removal?
2-Her milk will "come in" to some extent at least whether she nurses
or not.  Relieving the pressure by removing the milk rather than
letting it "back up" would make more sense and be more comfortable.
3-Would milk flow be disturbed by the tumor?  Depending on size and
location, this might occur, but only in the location of the tumor.
The rest of the breast should function just fine.
4-Painful breast now-I assume she has had a biopsy.  This could very
likely cause some pain in that region of the breast and pregnancy
growth may aggravate the discomfort.  Again, being able to relieve
postpartum fullness by nursing may well be more comfortable than
going through "not nursing" engorgement.
5-Since it was "caught in time" I assume lymph nodes were negative.
This may mean she will get one of the lesser chemo routines rather
than the more severe ones (in terms of side effects).  She may be
having a lumpectomy rather than a full mastectomy.  Even with a
mastectomy, the other breast can still function. There has been
discussion not long ago on LN about the possibility of pumping to
maintain supply and resuming after the effects of chemo are gone or
even between treatments depending on the med and the schedule.  Not
sure how continuing lactation would affect or be affected by the
treatment, but if she is really enthusiastic about nursing, this may
be an area to explore further.

My heart goes out to this mom and her family.  It was difficult
enough to cope with CA and the Rx with the kids all grown and on
their own.  I can only imagine the impact when mom has young
children, let along a brand new baby.

Winnie

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