THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 13, 1995 TAG: 9502100024
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
An article on contraceptives in the Jan. 22 Hampton Roads Woman failed to identify the disadvantages associated with the Pill, Depo-Provera and Norplant. Each of these introduces additional hormones into the woman's body which can cause numerous side effects.
Many studies have linked use of the Pill with breast cancer:
- The April 6, 1994, issue of The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported that researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that women on the Pill for 10 years or more had 70 times the risk of contracting breast cancer than women who had never taken the Pill or had used oral contraceptives for less than a year.
- A Swedish study found that women who started taking birth-control pills before age 20 had a sixfold increase in breast cancer. A New Zealand study discovered a 20 percent increase in breast-cancer risk among Pill users under age 35.
- An English study found a 40 percent increase in breast cancer among Pill users under 36.
The Pill has also been linked to cervical cancer, liver tumors, high blood pressure, blood clots, migraines, mental depression, weight gain or loss, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting, and gall-bladder disease.
While the more recent Norplant and Depo-Provera have not been studied as extensively as oral progestins, they most likely have similar effects.
Let's make sure we give women all of the information so they may make an informed choice. Moral issues aside, natural methods for avoiding pregnancy are just as effective as artificial birth control and eliminate the harmful side effects.
KATHRYN F. DEAN
Chesapeake, Jan. 25, 1995 by CNB