Birth Control Pills and Breast Cancer

QUESTION: In my day we were told that birth control pills could cause breast
cancer. Now my daughter wants to go on the pill and I want to advise her
properly. Are my fears appropriate? What can I tell her?
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ANSWER: All available evidence so far indicates that birth control pills are
not linked to cancer. One available study of some 10,000 women found no
increased risk of breast cancer, even among women who took birth control pills
for 15 years or more. This encouraging finding also held true no matter what
formula or dose of birth control pill the women took--no one type of estrogen
or progestin increased the cancer risk. Women who were thought to be at risk
for breast cancer because of other factors--a family history of the disease,
benign breast disease, or use of birth control pills before the birth of their
first child--also had no greater chance of cancer.
Other studies in the past have reached similar conclusions. Birth
control pills have only been available in the United States for about 20
years, and may have other long-term effects that we are not yet aware of.
During this time there have been many changes in the dosages used in the
pills, constantly reducing the quantities of medication used, and probably the
side effects as well. For the present they must be considered as excellent
medications, doing the job they were designed for, with few unwanted side
effects. It certainly seems as though you can put your fears aside when
counseling your daughter.