British researchers found that:
Birth control pills can protect women against ovarian cancer for 30 years or longer after they stop taking them and have so far prevented 100,000 ovarian cancer deaths worldwide.
The longer women stay on the pill, the lower their risk of developing the disease, which is more common after age 50... For example, women who take the pill for 15 years cut their risk in half.
Also,
When you are 60 it matters whether you took it for five years or 10 years in your twenties, the longer you took it, the better off you are when the risk of ovarian cancer is high.
The study found that:
Taking the pill for 10 years cut the risk of ovarian cancer before the age of 75 from 12 per 1,000 women to 8 per 1,000. It also reduced the risk of dying from the disease from 7 per 1,000 women to 5 per 1,000 before the age of 75.
The study also showed ethnicity, education, family history and other factors do not seem to make much difference in reducing risk when it comes to using the pill.
4 comments:
birth control pills increase risk of some heart diseases, as well as other forms of cancer. they also lead to potential hormone imbalances, and the excess estrogen and other hormones/chemicals in the pills enter the environment. the hormones/chemicals are then concentrated, and end up in the food chain...where we then ingest them as hazardous, concentrated materials.
it's sometimes hard to weigh the risks and benefits.
i developed gallstones because of a hormone disorder caused by taking birth control pills for several years. while waiting for the removal of my gall bladder, i developed a severe infection...pancreatitis, and ended up in an ambulance on the way for emergency surgery.
needless to say, i stay FAR FAR away from birth control pills. :)
I was a moderate term user of bcp, probably accumulatively 15 years. I had heard there were a few protective benefits. This news story was something of a confirmation. Its nice to hear a feeling of relief where cancer is concerned, rather than dread and fear. Just hoping it isn't big-pharma propaganda. I stopped taking the pill as my age advanced and the risks of cardiovascular incidents grew. And then, thank goddess for the almighty vasectomy. Halleluliah! Life begins!
The birth control pill issue is complicated. It does have its benefits, but there are also downfalls to using a daily medication so powerful it can come in a size smaller than an M&M. There haven't been enough long term studies to really understand the complete effects - even though this one study offers evidence supporting the reduction of ovarian cancer - do we know what cancers it possibly causes? Do we know if it's related to the abundant fertility issues that have come to light recently? While there are some circumstances that the benefits out weigh the risks (reducing population booms in AIDS infected societies) I don't think people really consider the ramifications of 'tricking' your body long term in less severe situations.
Isn't there a risk with breast cancer?
I don't like them myself, personally I was put on with to help with imbalances and found it only masked them, my problems continued to get worse, I just didn't know it.
I avoid it like the plague now.inw
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