Medical research has in recent years, developed more studies about the effects of pregnancy on the growth of malignant tumours. There are concerns that the hormone enriched physiological environment produced during pregnancy - which stimulates the growth of blastocytes (zygote cells) - can also encourage the proliferation of cancerous cells already present in a woman's body.Medical case histories document 'aggressive' forms of cancer diagnosed during a woman's pregnancy. The dilemma that some pregnant women face is the following: radiation therapy, chemotherapy and in some cases, surgery may compromise the pregnancy. For some women who are pregnant because of a heartfelt decision and commitment, a diagnosis of breast cancer for example, presents them with a heart-wrenching choice.
Some survive their pregnancy, give birth and successfully battle against cancer. Some are not as lucky. After my sister died of ovarian cancer, I read Ruth Picardie - Before I Say Goodbye.
Today I read about 41 year-old Jayne Soliman who died as a result of an undiagnosed brain tumour that grew - aggressively - during her pregnancy and triggered a fatal hemorrhage. Though Soliman was clinically dead, a machine kept her heart beating and her blood pumping so that her fetus could be the beneficiary of steroids that were injected into her body. This procedure was done to artificially stimulate fetal lung development in the 48 hours before a Caesarian was practiced to remove the fragile and premature Aya Jayne from the dead woman's uterus.
One can only imagine the dilemma facing the rabid fundamentalist christian fetus fetishists and bigots, unsure whether to claim this tragedy as a triumph for their ideological zealotry, or to shrieeekkk! because Aya Jayne's father is Mahmoud Soliman. Also,
... More than 300 mourners attended Ms Soliman's funeral last weekend, which was held at the Jamia mosque ....
Yes, that should elicit some shrieeekkks and grunts from the neanderthals over at small dead brains.
4 comments:
Even more women experienced being failure and having illness but they try their best to have an angel in their life even though they took them selves into risk.
Oy. deBeauxOs, you let that comment through? What think it mean maybe?
I think that it's about choice too, perhaps in circumstances that are challenging. I tracked the comment back to what appears to be an ISP based in the Philippines.
Pregnancy is inherently risky. It's not a disease in itself, and of course many women have utterly uneventful pregnancies.
But I have seen many women come out of pregnancies with decreased overall health, chronic problems and sometimes very serious ones. I've edited and read many articles on women undergoing treatment during pregnancy for cervical cancer; if treatment is delayed and the cancer is at a later stage, these women are pretty much condemned to die. No one in their right mind should insist they carry on their pregnancy. However, many choose to do so; the fact that it is a choice makes it easier for women to reconcile with it. Imagine if it were forced - as it is in many places around the world.
However, when the women who have uneventful or pleasant pregnancies - or women who have relished the risks and drama of their own pregnancy -turn around and insist that all women should assume the same risks and problems whether or not they are psychologically prepared, well, that's just inhumane and plain wrong.
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