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positiveoutlook · 02-26-2011, 12:46 PM

Does anyone know about the effectiveness of Birth control pills as a preventative measure against uterine/ovarian cancer? My GYN thought it might be a good thing for me to take since I have it in my family.

I was diagnosed with Lynch Syndrome a year ago- which is a hereditary trait that makes me more susceptible to certain cancers especially colon and endometrium cancer. I was wondering if anyone knows if Birth control pills are effective at lowering the risks of some kinds of uterine/ovarian cancers?

Thanks in advance if anyone is able to reply

Kali333 · 02-26-2011, 05:01 PM

Sorry to hear about the Lynch Syndrome.

I don't know about ovarian cancer (although if your doctor says so, he's probably right), but I know bc pills can help prevent uterine/endometrial cancer.

A lot of endometrial cancer starts as endometrial hyperplasia, which is when the uterine lining grows too thick and the cells become abnormal. This condition is usually caused by a hormone imbalance- either too much estrogen or not enough progesterone (leaving the estrogen unopposed).

Either birth control pills or progesterone supplements alone are often given to women with this condition, to regulate their cycles and cause the uterine lining to shed regularly. This prevents the development of uterine cancer.

Good luck with everything, and kudos to you for being proactive and vigilant.

eli92 · 04-21-2011, 10:45 PM

but i was told that taking birth control raised your risk for both uterine and cervical cancer...

positiveoutlook · 11-25-2011, 02:31 AM

I just spoke to my oncologist and she did some research and found out there aren't any reports that say oral contraceptives are helpful to lower uterine/ovarian cancer in people with Lynch Syndrome (me). She personally is not recommending I take anything with hormones in them in case they trigger anything in me (cancer-wise). With Lynch I am very susceptible to more colon cancer, endometrium, ovarian, and some others like mostly everything in my abdominal cavity (stomach, small intestine, gallbladder, etc). Even skin cancer is a concern. So although I would love to be on birth control to help control my acne I am not planning on taking it.

Eventually when I know I will have no more kids it is advised to have a hysterectomy done.

Kimb96 · 11-25-2011, 01:05 PM

I have lynch and I've been diagnosed with colon cancer in march 2010 and ovarian cancer last week. I don't really think it makes a difference as far as birth control pills are concerned. My particular kind of ovarian cancer is estregen dependant so the birth control I've been on for the past 6 months probably didn't do me any favors but I doubt it caused my cancer. I believe the cancers are because of the Lynch and nothing is going to change my genetic makeup. IMO, I wouldn't worry about birth control. The blessing of lynch is that while we do have a higher incidence of cancers, our prognosis is much better because of frequent testing that leads to early detection. I am staged 1C for the ovarian cancer. It was found during my routine recommended annual female exams. If I didn't have lynch, I wouldn't be having a vaginal ultrasound and uterine biopsy done yearly. It caught my cancer in a very early stage. Which is a blessing as ovarian cancer is generally asymptomatic until late stages.

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