The reason I post this (on baseball-football and hockey) is because this issue effects me greatly. At the age of 24, my wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. (you can imagine this is on the young side) She had the tumor removed, and went through chemo. We were newlyweds at the time (one year anniversary essentially), but she made it through that rough six months very well, and she's doing fine.
The reason I am posting this is because it confirms something her surgeon said during our initial consultations. He is a Spanish surgeon who worked over over in Spain in the 70's. I believe he even specialized in breast tumor removal. Regardless, he commented that when he was over there, he started to notice a larger number of "young" 20-40 women who were coming in with breast cancerous tumors. After moving to the States, and contined his practice for several years, he started to notice the same trend appearing in America. He specifically told us that it seemed that this trend started about 10 years after the introduction of Birth Control Pills in the respective countries (apparently it because popular in Europe in the 60s). When he told us this, there weren't a lot of scientific studies being done, but it seems like there is some evidence now which supports his hypothesis.
I'm not saying birth control pills are bad. Heck, the odds of this happening are roughly 8%. (Ok, that may be a bit high) But the risk is there. My wife was very lucky to find it when she did (it was only 2mm) but it was still a very scary event to undertake. If you know someone is on birth control, make sure they keep up with their self exams and they keep up their good health.
Incidentally, if anyone needs any advice, consolation, etc. feel free to drop me a PM.
Researchers concluded that one excess breast cancer could be expected for every 20,000 women who used oral contraceptives from ages 16 to 19 and 4.7 cancers could be expected for every 10,000 women who used them from ages 25 to 29.
According to Cerhan's editorial, there is evidence that oral contraceptive use can reduce a woman’s risk for ovarian and endometrial cancers, and recent studies suggest that it may also protect against colorectal cancercolorectal cancer.
He writes that use of oral birth control is also believed to reduce the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, benign breast disease, ovarian cystsovarian cysts, and other reproductive-related health problems
Sounds like a little give and take either way. Haven't really done any reading on this though.
Yes doctor, I am sick. Sick of those who are spineless. Sick of those who feel self-entitled. Sick of those who are hypocrites. Yes doctor, an army is forming. Yes doctor, there will be a war. Yes doctor, there will be blood.....
Birth control pills are "associated with an increased risk of premenopausal breast cancer," according to an analysis of studies in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The World Health Organization recently classified such pills as carcinogens; the link may help to explain why U.S. breast cancer has been increasing. Caveats: 1) "The absolute risk ... is very small." 2) The increased risk gradually disappears after you stop taking the pills. 3) We're not saying you shouldn't take them; we're just saying you should be informed of the risk. 4) You should also be informed that the pills "decrease the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer" and help fight ovarian cysts and pelvic inflammatory disease.
If you're a battery, you're either working or you're dead....
by Absolutely Adequate » Wed Nov 08, 2006 12:56 pm
Coppermine is right. There is a small uptick in risk of breast cancer by taking birth-control pills. But at the same time, there is a much lower chance of ovarian cancer AND it increases breast size.
My fiance just went to her gyno the other day and he wants her to switch pills because there's a small chance of a stroke associated with the pill she's on now.
She also mentioned something about a mole on her breast the doctor wants to keep an eye on but I wasn't really paying attention
It's nothing major and she kinda just said it in passing but yeah, now that I read this thread I'm certainly keeping a mindful eye on it from now on.
nsulham wrote:It's nothing major and she kinda just said it in passing but yeah, now that I read this thread I'm certainly keeping a mindful eye on it from now on.
Just be sure to help with the breast exams (obviously do the 'inspection' help before any other sort of help).
Thanks for the posts, and remember, this evidence isn't ironclad, it is merely suggestive as Coppermine posted. I think it's good to be aware about these things for people you love.
And again, it can't hurt to help with breast exams.
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by shpuck » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:11 pm 
Haven't really done any reading on this though. 
