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Study suggests cancers on the rise in pregnant women

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    Dr. Manny Alvarez weighs in

  • Duration 4:00
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And -- who study this week reporting some alarming news on pregnancy cancers are on the rise and pregnant women.

Researchers can't pinpoint what's behind the increased risk.

But say it could be many factors Dr.

Manny Alvarez senior managing editor of Fox News health dot com and a member of the fox medical eighteen he joins us now with some perspective on what's going here since we can't determine the risk.

Well -- -- -- I think they -- listening to the way that the stories being told it's not that pregnancy gives you cancer what's happening is two things.

We have better screening mechanism for cancer than we ever had before things like melanoma.

Breast cancer and you also have now women having babies much later actually do you look at rates of cancer.

And in a non pregnant population -- say after 3540.

You gonna find more and more cases of cancer.

Back in ninety let's say 97 you would see incidence of maybe a hundred cases of cancer.

Who have for every 100000 women now is coming close to 200 cases of cancer.

-- 100000 women so -- the end of the day I think it's just a combination of the you know the pregnancy population you know again getting pregnant later on.

And better it's better screening.

And let you know doctors what my -- like to into high risk OB I have a lot of patience that either have.

You know cancer currently -- to pregnancy.

Or are cancer survivors you know breast cancer survivors -- things like that so we do have some challenges during the pregnancy.

But.

You know is something that it's sort of been looked -- as you know.

Part of doing business -- -- let me ask you this then how a woman who has cancer going into pregnancy what risk does that present to the -- -- -- -- -- the first about the cancer what do what -- cancer is -- an invasive cancer is you know it's not and what what what what type of -- -- influenced by pregnancy hormones.

When was the cancer diagnosed.

And then you decide.

Sometimes you do have to deliver the baby a little bit earlier just to get the chance for final therapy whether surgery or chemo sometimes we use.

Chemotherapy.

While the patient is pregnant.

And really has very little effect on the pregnancy itself.

So the pregnancy you know fortunately is isolated from the maternal side in this particular disease so.

But it's you know -- challenging you know dot there's another issue that's come up with this study that sleep apnea during pregnancy yeah I didn't -- that was a problem huge problem huge problem.

You have to remember 33% of pregnant women in the US.

Are a little bit overweight and when you look at overweighting kind well we have -- listen I've fallen -- 33% even though only guy.

But.

I you know did it being overweight in pregnancy can put you in a place.

For high risk.

Development of apnea.

When you have sleep that it would keep saying that you stop breathing for moments -- -- the night.

When you stop breathing you have no oxygen coming in it increases your blood pressure -- -- irregularities of heartbeat so what happens in pregnancy pregnant women that have sleep apnea.

Put the pregnancy at risk for high blood pressure for -- it plans to which is that the Ecstasy that you get.

When you're pregnant also this is a big huge issue so if you do think that you have sleep apnea.

Especially in the early part of an effort to -- me you can get kick -- -- and -- to -- my understanding is that this can even cause some problems for children.

Well first -- like that to pick and on the pregnant ladies from an overweight we have to have our pickles and ice cream okay Arkansas -- I'm glad that so if you losing sleep your baby may be affected that option.

You -- you that you you think you can increase your blood pressure but what I was saying before is if you find that you're in the risk category of sleep apnea if you snoring if you wake up with a headache and the first thing your doctor should do -- to test you for sleep -- -- -- sleep -- We have one in Hackensack University Medical Center which happens to be my hospital and that's what we -- when I see somebody comes and will we put them -- we check them out and then we can have therapy.

During the pregnancy to improve -- -- regulation that -- doctor -- a Florida you've got it to your fast absolutely.

Are inadequate care great to see you great to.

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