The short answer
Breastfeeding after breast cancer is possible for some people. Surgery and radiation can reduce milk in the treated breast, and some cancer medicines can pass into breast milk, so planning with your team comes first.
ACS says some people are able to breastfeed after breast cancer treatment, and others may not be able to, depending on the type of treatment and other factors.
After breast surgery or radiation, ACS says you might produce less milk, or no milk, in the affected breast, and breastfeeding could be painful or latching could be harder.
If you are taking hormone therapy or any other medicine for breast cancer, ACS says it is very important to talk with your healthcare team before trying to breastfeed, because some medicines can enter breast milk and might affect the baby.
ACS says pregnancy and breastfeeding do not seem to increase the chance of breast cancer coming back.
On this page
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This page is for people who have had breast cancer treatment and hope to breastfeed a future baby. It explains what the American Cancer Society (ACS) says about surgery, radiation and medicines.
The short version
ACS says some people can breastfeed after breast cancer treatment and others cannot. It depends on the type of treatment and other factors. ACS also says breastfeeding after treatment is not thought to increase the risk of the cancer coming back. The conversation that matters most is with your healthcare team, ideally before you try to become pregnant.
Surgery and radiation
ACS says that if you had breast cancer surgery or radiation, you might have problems breastfeeding from the affected breast. You might produce less milk, or no milk, in that breast. Changes to the structure of the breast could make breastfeeding painful, and could make it harder for the baby to latch onto the breast. But some people are still able to breastfeed.
Medicines
ACS says that if you are taking hormone therapy or any other medicines to treat your breast cancer, it is very important to talk with your healthcare team before trying to breastfeed. Some medicines can enter your breast milk and might affect the baby. Do not start, stop or pause cancer medicines on your own. A planned pause in hormone therapy for pregnancy is a decision made with your oncologist.
Does it affect the cancer coming back?
ACS says pregnancy and breastfeeding do not seem to increase the chance of breast cancer coming back. It says breastfeeding, especially for a year or more, is linked to a lower risk of developing breast cancer, and that there is less research on whether it lowers the risk of coming back after treatment.
Support
ACS says your healthcare team can answer questions about breastfeeding after cancer treatment. A lactation consultant (IBCLC) who works with people after breast surgery can also help, and your team can refer you. Tell your obstetric team and your baby's pediatrician about your surgical history so they know what to expect.
If it does not work out
Some people cannot produce enough milk, and for others the feeding they had imagined is simply not available. That can feel like a real loss. Ask your team for support if you are struggling, and ask your pediatrician about feeding options for your baby.
Sources
Common questions
Can I breastfeed after breast cancer treatment?
Some people can and some cannot. The American Cancer Society says this depends on the type of treatment and other factors. After breast cancer surgery or radiation you might have problems breastfeeding from the affected breast, with less milk or no milk, and changes to the breast could make breastfeeding painful or make it harder for the baby to latch. But some people are still able to breastfeed.
Does breastfeeding make breast cancer come back?
ACS says pregnancy and breastfeeding do not seem to increase the chance of breast cancer coming back, and that breastfeeding after treatment, if you can do it, is not thought to increase the risk of recurrence.
What about hormone therapy, chemotherapy or other cancer medicines?
ACS says that if you are taking hormone therapy or any other medicine to treat your breast cancer, it is very important to talk with your healthcare team before trying to breastfeed. Some medicines can enter your breast milk and might affect the baby. Do not start, stop or pause cancer medicines on your own.
Who can help?
ACS says your healthcare team can answer questions about breastfeeding after cancer treatment. Ask them to help you plan before pregnancy.
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Written by: Cancer ExplainedSources last checked: 2026-07-30 what this meansLast updated: 2026-10-01Next planned review: 2028-07-30
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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