Can you have children if you are being treated for leukemia?

Question

I'm writing a story in which the main character gets leukemia. I'm assuming she shouldn't be pregnant while she is going through chemo and treatment, right? I really don't know much about leukemia, and I want to make this story as accurate as I can. If she can't be pregnant while being treated, how long after she goes into remission will she have to wait to have a healthy child?

Answer 1

This story has already been done.  Have you seen steel magnolias?  Julia Roberts played a girl with lukemia that got pregnant and had a baby

Answer 2

A person can become pregnant during treatment for Leukemia. However, it is not recommended, because the chemotherapy will cause miscarriage or severe birth defects. Women of childbearing age are informed to have their eggs harvested for in vitro later on, as the remaining eggs may have permanent damage depending on high dose chemotherapy used. Radiation is not used in leukemia unless there is solid tumor development or for bone marrow transplant.

Menstrual cycles will come and go during treatment, hemorrhaging is a large threat during treatment and would certainly put the fetus at risk even if it was developmentally normal.

Two years after remission is usually recommended before becoming pregnant because of the risk of relapse (which almost always happens, depending on the type of leukemia).

I'm not sure but if a patient was pregnant and had leukemia and she wanted to salvage the pregnancy, she might have a procedure done to pull the leukemic cells out of her body (leukopheresis) instead of chemo. This is usually a short term treatment for newly diagnosed patients. The problem with this procedure is that the underlying cause is not treated, and anemia and low platelets can still result. In that cause transfusion would be necessary but I doubt the fetus could survive in such a stressful state.  

Answer 3

Actually Steele Magnolias Julia Roberts had diabetes not leukemia.  

Answer 4

The girl in Steel Magnolias did not have leukemia, she had diabetes. No you can't get pregnant while being treated for leukemia because of the radiation treatment and drugs. Also, the leukemia itself probably weakens the body where it can't handle a pregnancy, I don't know that for a fact, but it makes sense to me. It's not physically impossible to get pregnant, but a very unwise decision to allow yourself to get pregnant in that state. Also, any time you have a disease, or a disease runs in the family, there's a possibility you can pass it on so that's something else to consider. Now your book is fiction so it's ok to get some things wrong becasue its fiction anyway. But it's good to research because it is annoying when you read or watch something fiction and it goes too far out of reality. Good luck on your book.