[GovernmentShrinker]

I do think it's heroic when a pregnant woman finds out she has cancer and puts off treatment until after the birth of the child.

I was talking about women who have already had cancer, and THEN proceed to get pregnant (often when they already have children), knowing it's more likely than not that they'll die before the child finishes elementary school. Most FReepers would think that was just fine, but then say it's obviously "selfish" when a very healthy 66 year old (who could pass for 55 to physicians), who actually has a longer life expectancy than the thirty-something woman with a history of breast cancer, decides to have a baby.

[OrangeHoof]

While family refused to release a cause a death (the exclusive “rights” to her story were sold to a publisher, the story said), it was reported that a tumor had been found on her soon after her delivery and the woman had been ill for some time, so she apparently wasn’t as healthy as she pretended to be.

I could live with a government law that would make illegal in vitro fertilization for women aged 50 or over. Natural fertilization is another story because then it’s not a doctor’s office making someone pregnant.

[Clara Lou]

I'll be honest with you: I'm not aware of a situation where a woman has done what you describe. I suppose someone, somewhere has done it, though. You use the word "often." That's subjective. Also, these days, the type of cancer a woman suffers from affects the likelihood of its recurrence. My mother in-law had cancer 25 years ago. She's celebrating her 61st wedding anniversary in August. My younger sister died of very potent cancer 12 years ago-- she never had a chance.

[Nea Wood]

I don’t imagine that happens a lot. Most women who get breast cancer are older than their 30s when they get it. And what if a woman was in remission and had a good prognosis? You never know what will happen or who will get sick or when. A woman who’s been healthy her whole life might have a baby and then come down with an illness a year later, while the breast cancer survivor never has a recurrence.