Breast Health And Hormonal Contraception

Breast Pain and Birth Control Pills
Art ? Pam Stephan

Breasts don't stay the same all your life.? Hormonal cycles, weight gain, and pregnancy may affect the shape, size, and texture of your breasts.? Even your contraception choices may affect your breasts.? If you use hormonal contraception - more simply called "The Pill" then you may have noticed how it affects your menstrual cycles.? But did you know that the hormones in birth control pills also affect your breast health?

This month, About.com is having a blog carnival on the topic of Contraception and Your Overall Health.? Many women in their fertile years are juggling careers, education, relationships, and motherhood.? Birth control pills are often a part of that picture, while they might not be for others.? The synthetic hormones - estrogen and progestin - in combination birth control pills and minipills effect not just your reproductive health, but your overall health.? So when making a decision about taking The Pill, consider the big picture.

Birth control pills may be prescribed to help with breast pain or irregular menstrual periods.? In some cases, the use of birth control pills helps regulate hormonal cycles and prepares the way for conception - once they are discontinued.? But there are other health benefits and risks associated with The Pill.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), using the synthetic hormones in oral contraceptives lowers your risk for endometrial and ovarian cancers.? NCI also studied the effect of The Pill on risk for breast cancer.? Most breast tumors are fueled by estrogen, and many tumors also use progesterone to grow.? For young women, particularly those who began using The Pill as teenagers, the lifetime risk for developing breast cancer was greater than average. Condoms and spermicides or abstinence might be safer contraception options for women in their teens and twenties.? Family history of breast cancer, race, location, and economic status didn't affect their breast cancer risk - only the addition of synthetic hormones appeared to raise these young women's risk.? Women over 20 who used The Pill had a slightly increased risk for breast cancer, but the study found that 5 to 10 years after stopping The Pill, their risk returned to the lifetime average for their age group.

So while hormonal contraception can be good for cyclical breast pain and prevention of endometrial and ovarian cancers, The Pill does comes with some risk.? If you're considering using birth control pills, discuss your risks and benefits with your doctor before requesting a prescription.? Be sure to do your breast self-exam monthly, and stay current on your screening mammograms.? If you are diagnosed with breast cancer while taking The Pill, stop using it right away.

This post is a part of the About.com Health Channel's blog carnival on "Contraception and Your Overall Health" hosted by About.com Guide to Contraception, Dawn Stacey.

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