Birth Control and Cancer
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Birth Control and Breast Cancer
Oral contraceptives (OC's) were first introduced to American women in the
1960's, the convenience and effectiveness of OC's quickly became the most popular form of birth control. However, many concerns have been raised about the role that hormones play in a number of cancers, and how hormone-based OC's might contribute to their development ("Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk" 1). Breast cancer was one particular cancer that many thought has been said to increase the development of this by taking OC's.
This topic is a significant issue today, because there are 300 million worldwide women who have taken OC's, and an estimated 100 million are still currently taking the pill (Ross 1). With such high numbers it is extremely important to examine any risk factors that the pill may or may not cause. The idea that taking OC's may cause breast cancer has become more mainstream as more knowledge is gained about cancer in general. As cancer has been developing more often now then before, researchers are trying to find any type of causes that may lead to the development of this sometimes deadly disease.
A women's risk in developing breast cancer depends on several factors, and many
of these factors depend on her natural hormones. These hormonal factors that can increase the risk of breast cancer include conditions that allow high levels of hormones to continue for long periods of time, as early as the age of first menstruation, late age menopause, having children after the age of thirty, and not having children at all (Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk" 2). Many of the risk factors for breast cancer are related to natural hormones, and because OC's work by manipulating these hormones, there has been some concern about the possible effects of OC's on breast cancer risk, especially in women who have taken them for many years...