Cancer and the Pill

In 2007 the World Health Organization determined that oral contraceptives were Group I carcinogens, which are capable of causing several cancers in women, including breast cancer. Unfortunately their findings have yet to be published in mainstream media, therefore many doctors aren’t aware of the risks and continue to prescribe oral contraceptives to their patients.

A new study widens this risk to include African-American women. Scientists at Boston University School of Medicine followed 53,848 African-American women for an average of 12 years, beginning in 1995. They found 789 cases of breast cancer. Of these cases, the number of estrogen receptor-negative cases was 65% greater in women who had used the pill. Such breast cancers have a worse prognosis than estrogen receptor-positive tumors. The risk for breast cancer was greatest in women who had used the pill within five years and whose use was greater than ten years.

Funding for the study was provided by the National Cancer Institute.

What do you think about this? If this is a proven study, shouldn't more people be aware of the potential risks?

References

Oral Contraceptive Use and Estrogen/Progesterone Receptor–Negative Breast Cancer among African American Women: http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/19/8/2073.full.pdf+html

23 Year Old Woman Pregnant Seven Times In Five Years, Despite Using Contraception

A mother of 3, Gemma Potter, has gotten pregnant 7 different times in five years despite using the pill, condoms, the coil, progestogen injections, and an implant. She is currently expecting her fourth child (she's had 3 miscarriages and 1 ectopic pregnancy). Doctors have been unable to pinpoint the cause of her extreme fertility.

Here at EFP, we found this article very interesting and couldn't help but ask ourselves if using natural contraception instead of the hormonal options she used, would have ended up in 7 unwanted pregnancies. Although her case may be rare and her cycles irregular, perhaps practicing fertility awareness could have prevented the pregnancies if she abstained from intercourse on her fertile days. What do you think?

You can read the full article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/gemma-potter-pregnant-_n_1160098.html