Birth control

Birth control

Recent oral contraceptive use: Studies have found that women using oral
contraceptives (birth control pills) have a slightly greater risk of breast cancer than
women who have never used them. This risk seems to go back to normal over time once
the pills are stopped. Women who stopped using oral contraceptives more than 10 years
ago do not appear to have any increased breast cancer risk. When thinking about using
oral contraceptives, women should discuss their other risk factors for breast cancer with
their health care team.
Depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA; Depo-Provera®) is an injectable form of
progesterone that is given once every 3 months as birth control. A few studies have
looked at the effect of DMPA on breast cancer risk. Women currently using DMPA seem
to have an increase in risk, but the risk doesn’t seem to be increased if this drug was used
more than 5 years ago.
Hormone therapy after menopause
Hormone therapy with estrogen (often combined with progesterone) has been used for
many years to help relieve symptoms of menopause and to help prevent osteoporosis
(thinning of the bones). Earlier studies suggested it might have other health benefits as
well, but these benefits have not been found in more recent, better designed studies. This
treatment goes by many names, such as post-menopausal hormone therapy (PHT),
hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT).
There are 2 main types of hormone therapy. For women who still have a uterus (womb),
doctors generally prescribe both estrogen and progesterone (known as combined hormone
therapy or HT). Progesterone is needed because estrogen alone can increase the risk of
cancer of the uterus. For women who no longer have a uterus (those who've had a
hysterectomy), estrogen alone can be prescribed. This is commonly known as estrogen
replacement therapy (ERT) or just estrogen therapy (ET).