I have been going back and forth for quite awhile, now, on whether or not to post on this topic. However, an article I recently read has alarmed me enough to put aside my feelings and pass this on to all the women I know.
Due to moral reasons, Daniel and I stopped using the pill and switched to Natural Family Planning. Before a few months ago, I had no idea that this method could be just as effective as the pill, so I’d really encourage every woman to check out this book and website. But regardless of how you feel morally about this issue, the following information may be enough to convince you.
Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, a leading breast cancer surgeon, is attempting to blow the whistle on what looks like a political cover-up. She claims that the federal government and academic texts are denying a significantly increased risk of breast cancer due to oral contraceptives as well as abortions.
According to her article and other research that I did, it is a fact that the pill does increase the risk of breast cancer. That I knew. But I had no idea that the “small increased risk” is actually a 30% increase! On top of that, after you stop taking the pill, it takes 10 years for your level of risk to return to it what it was before!
Despite these scary stats, the National Cancer Institute stated that the benefits of the pill outweighed the risks. Estrogen, a major component, was labeled a carcinogen in 1999, but suspiciously enough, the pill itself didn’t make that list until 6 years later. Also, studies done in 2002 on both the pill and hormone replacement therapy (which also has estrogen) produced opposite results. Researchers thought that the birth control risk wasn’t significant, but that the hormone replacement therapy was too risky…and both treatments have estrogen as a main ingredient!
Stick with me; there’s more.
I had always heard that the abortion breast cancer link was a myth. It appears that this is a lie in itself. Put simply, there are 4 types of lobules in the breast. All women start out with Types 1 & 2, the ones highly susceptible to cancer. When a women gets pregnant, these multiply and turn into Type 3 at 32 weeks and then Type 4 after giving birth; both 3 & 4 are life-long cancer resistant. Premature delivery or abortion before 32 weeks actually increases the risk of breast cancer because there are more places (lobules) for breast cancer to start!
Can you imagine if we actually gave pregnant women this kind of information?! “Well, if you have an abortion you will increase your risk of breast cancer. But if you carry the baby to term, you will help prevent breast cancer.” It makes the “choice” of abortion look very different. Unfortunately, abortion is too political of an issue, especially when the founder of the Susan G. Komen Foundation (breast cancer research and advocacy) is also a chairperson for Planned Parenthood! The pill is also a political issue. It is a major pharmaceutical money-maker so “free” birth control (Natural Family Planning) is not likely to be advertised.
Women should have the right to know these facts before giving consent to any type of birth control or medical procedure, especially when there are significant risks involved! Early screening for breast cancer is not enough when things can be done to help prevent its occurrence.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. In case you’d like to look up the hard facts on your own, I’ve linked all of my research above and have also included Dr. Lanfranchi’s article. If anything is unclear or if you have questions , I can do my best to answer them with the research that I’ve done. Your comments are welcomed.
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