IN TOUCH
Cancer and 'the pill'
- Published: 21 Aug 2012 at 00.00
- Newspaper section: Life
Recently, I was invited to a television show to answer questions about birth control. Surprisingly, among other questions about its use, effectiveness and safety, many questions were about whether the use of oral contraceptives could increase the risk of developing some cancers.
One may wonder whether this is true, since birth control pills are the most popular contraceptive method worldwide and have been used for many decades.
Natural female hormones _ oestrogen and progesterone _ have been found to influence the development and growth of some cancers, and as birth control pills contain similar hormones, concerns are raised among users. Although links between widely used contraceptives and cancer risks have long been investigated, the results have not always been consistent.
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