When I tell young couples that the pill can cause breast cancer and therefore they shouldn’t use it, they quietly dismiss me. I get a blank stare. Here is what I imagine is going on in their subconscious mind:
- “That can’t happen to me.” (I love the invincible spirit of youth!)
- “My doctor would not let me take something harmful.” (hard to believe indeed!)
- “It’s probably just a scare tactic to get us off the pill.” (sure is!)
- “Breast cancer treatment works, especially for young people.” (thank God, but at what cost?)
- “I have to use something. Everything has risks!” (yes, but read on…)
These thoughts are perfectly justified given what they know and what they’re hoping. I am also a pretty trusting person and like to believe what seems to make sense to me. But I’m afraid they’re wrong. It is very hard to imagine going through cancer when we’re healthy and young, and to imagine the suffering it causes. In fact, people don’t talk a lot about that part. Yes, women recover from breast cancer, but what do they have to go through?
I took a quick look by reading stories online. Here is Sheyanne B., who contracted cancer when she was 31 years old: “I would be lying if I said that this wasn’t the toughest thing I have ever gone through. I was incredibly sick. I got burned. Some days I couldn’t walk. I lost my hair. I lost my independence. But the physical pain had nothing on the pain I experienced from seeing my loved ones have to stand by and watch me suffer. I have the most amazing husband in the world. He fought alongside of me every step of the way. But no husband should ever have to carry his wife to the bathroom because she is too sick to walk on her own. And no mother should have to fear whether she is going to have to attend her baby girl’s funeral. And no sister should have to wonder whether her unborn daughter will have an Auntie to grow up with.” Then read the ones about surgery, removal of breasts, complications….
Here are some of the side effects of radiation: “Side effects from radiation therapy to the chest may include difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath, breast or nipple soreness, and shoulder stiffness. Some people may develop a cough, fever, and fullness of the chest that is diagnosed as radiation pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lung occurring between two weeks and six months after radiation therapy.”
And here are the side effects of chemotherapy
- anemia/low red blood cell counts
- diarrhea
- fatigue
- fertility problems
- hair changes (=loss)
- infection
- memory loss
- menopause and menopausal symptoms
- mouth and throat sores
- nail changes
- nausea
- neuropathy (problems with hands and feet)
- taste and smell changes
- vaginal dryness
- vomiting
- weight changes
If there was a small chance, say 2%, that you could get breast cancer by taking the pill, would you try to avoid it? What about 10% chance? Would you then avoid it for sure? What about 30% chance? A new study tells us it’s 50% or more for most types of pills, with the exception of the low dose pills.
What’s tragic, is that there is an increase of breast cancer happening to young women. 1 in 173 American women will get breast cancer before they turn 40, according to another study that also shows that four times more women had a metastatic form of cancer in 2008 compared to 1976. Even if you (or people you know) are still hesitant about switching to a natural form of family planning, please stay away from hormonal pills, especially if you have family history of cancer. However, if you’re curious about a completely harmless, highly practical and effective form of birth control, read this article and hear from people who practice it.
