--- title: See Viral Image of Woman Breastfeeding Newborn After Her Mastectomy description: A viral image has emerged of a brave Florida woman that delivered and successfully breast-fed a newborn boy, despite undergoing a mastectomy canonical: https://time.com/3837736/breastfeeding-woman-mastectomy-cancer-viral-image/ author: Sabrina Toppa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-28T15:57:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:30.165Z article:section: Health og:title: Photo of Woman Breastfeeding After a Mastectomy Goes Viral og:description: The image has inspired others to do the same. og:url: https://time.com/3837736/breastfeeding-woman-mastectomy-cancer-viral-image/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Photo of Woman Breastfeeding After a Mastectomy Goes Viral twitter:description: The image has inspired others to do the same. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Photo of a Woman With Cancer Breastfeeding After a Mastectomy Has Gone Viral ## Video: Filming Embryos Improves Chances of Pregnancy [Watch (HLS stream): Filming Embryos Improves Chances of Pregnancy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1HDjrg7H.m3u8) (3:41)  _Published 2010-10-08. Just after Robert Edwards won the Nobel Prize for his In Vitro Fertilization work, a new study said careful video observation of the fertilization process improves chances for a successful pregnancy_ by [Sabrina Toppa](https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Apr 28, 2015 3:57 PM UTC by [Sabrina Toppa](https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Apr 28, 2015 3:57 PM UTC Two [photographs of an unidentified woman](https://www.facebook.com/GentleBirthOptions/posts/10153213768781093)—who is pictured breastfeeding a newborn boy after reportedly having undergone a mastectomy and chemotherapy to treat her stage-3 breast cancer—have gone viral on the Internet. “She really wanted to breastfeed after having many of her birth choices and preferences taken from her, if only for a short time because cancer treatments resume when she is discharged from the hospital,” the Florida-based Gentle Birth Options midwife center [posted](https://www.facebook.com/GentleBirthOptions/posts/10153213768781093) on Facebook along with photos of the woman. Though leading cancer institutions recommend a mother not nurse her child after chemotherapy, [some experts](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101012101847.htm) insist there is no solid scientific basis for that guidance. Breastfeeding is known for reducing an infant’s risk of developing asthma, childhood leukemia, childhood obesity, eczema, and a range of other health ailments, according to the federal government’s [Office of Women’s Health](http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-benefits.html). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3837736/breastfeeding-woman-mastectomy-cancer-viral-image/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3837736/breastfeeding-woman-mastectomy-cancer-viral-image/"},"headline":"This Photo of a Woman With Cancer Breastfeeding After a Mastectomy Has Gone Viral","datePublished":"2015-04-28T15:57:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:30.165Z","description":"The image challenges conventional advice that women being treated for cancer should avoid breastfeeding","url":"https://time.com/3837736/breastfeeding-woman-mastectomy-cancer-viral-image/","keywords":["Cancer","Newsfeed","health","birth","breastfeeding"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sabrina Toppa","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cancer/","name":"Cancer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3837736/breastfeeding-woman-mastectomy-cancer-viral-image/","name":"This Photo of a Woman With Cancer Breastfeeding After a Mastectomy Has Gone Viral"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Filming Embryos Improves Chances of Pregnancy","description":"Just after Robert Edwards won the Nobel Prize for his In Vitro Fertilization work, a new study said careful video observation of the fertilization process improves chances for a successful pregnancy","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/1HDjrg7H/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2010-10-08T20:58:46.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1HDjrg7H.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3837736/breastfeeding-woman-mastectomy-cancer-viral-image/","duration":"PT3M41S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3837736/breastfeeding-woman-mastectomy-cancer-viral-image/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```