by Angie Warner, WHNP
Last week we posted a blog entry about how to reduce your risk of developing cervical, anal, rectal, vaginal, vulvar and mouth/throat cancer. This week we are discussing how to reduce your risk of ovarian cancer.
Many patients are concerned about the risk of cancer with contraceptives, or in other words, birth control. We have known for many years that contraceptives decrease the risk of ovarian cancer but a recent article published in the British Medical Journal shows that patients on hormonal birth control have a 34% reduction in ovarian cancer.
In fact, not only does birth control reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, but long term usage of combined contraceptives greater than 10 years actually shows the greatest benefit. That population has a 74% reduction in risk of developing ovarian cancer. However the study also demonstrated the benefit diminishes once a female stops using combined contraceptives for more than a decade. So in other words, evidence show that long term continued usage of a combined contraceptive has the tremendous benefits. At WCS we often recommend to stay on birth control until age 55 as long as there are no other risk factors. Continued birth control is helpful with symptoms of menopause and now there is evidence that longer usage is beneficial in protecting you from ovarian cancer.
For those of you women that are on birth control to prevent pregnancy but plan for a family in the future we would also like to clarify some misconceptions about long term use of contraceptives and infertility. The duration of birth control does not affect future fertility. The age in which a female is when she attempts pregnancy is the factor in infertility. So those of you out there that are concerned about being on birth control for greater than 10 years but not ready for a baby right now… rest assured, you are actually reducing your risk of ovarian cancer.
To read the full article: https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k3609
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