'The Pill' causes breast cancer - WHO

If know someone who is using "The Pill", you may want to encourage them to investigate with their doctor whether their prescription has been classified as a "Group 1 carcinogen". The major news outlets do not seem to be spreading the information that oral contraceptives have recently been classified as "group 1" carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which is part of the World Health Organization. This World Health Organization (WHO) information can be accessed here.

"A new study from the Mayo Clinic has concluded that there is 'a measurable and statistically significant' connection between the pill and pre-menopausal breast cancer, re-enforcing the recent classification of oral contraceptives as Type 1 carcinogens."

The study from the Mayo Clinic supports the decision by the IARC to classify oral contraceptives as group 1 carcinogens. The incidence of breast cancer has risen from 1 in 22 in the 1940's to 1 in 7 by 2004. This is in spite of concerted efforts to reduce its occurrence. The widespread usage of "The Pill" may have made a significant contribution to this huge increase in breast cancer. Any husband concerned about the safety of his wife should thoroughly investigate this issue with some trusted doctors before encouraging her to use "The Pill".

In addition to this extremely serious health issue, there are also very important factors to consider regarding the attitudes and values involved in using "The Pill" to prevent successful pregnancy. See here for a discussion on birth-control attitudes.

The American Cancer Society has the following information:

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC): The most widely used system for classifying carcinogens comes from the IARC, which is part if the World Health Organization (WHO). In the past 30 years, the IARC has evaluated the cancer-causing potential of about 900 likely candidates, placing them into one of the following groups:

• Group 1: Carcinogenic to humans
• Group 2A: Probably carcinogenic to humans
• Group 2B: Possibly carcinogenic to humans
• Group 3: Unclassifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans
• Group 4: Probably not carcinogenic to humans

Perhaps not surprisingly, most of the agents are of probable, possible, or unknown risk. Only about 90 are classified as "carcinogenic to humans."