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Article: Pregnancy and Cancer
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Pregnancy and cancer
Definition
Cancer that is diagnosed during a pregnancy is the focus of this entry. For the most part, cancer that strikes during a pregnancy is unrelated to the pregnancy. It is instead a most unfortunate coincidence. The exception is choriocarcinoma. This cancer is only found in pregnancy and is described in the next section.
Description
Pregnancy can be a joyous time for a woman, but when cancer is diagnosed, a tremendous dilemma can arise, both for the woman and for her health care providers. Cancer is not common in pregnancy, and is rarely the cause of maternal mortality. However, in any pregnancy there are always two patients, the mother and the fetus. When a ...