HealthFirst

Breast cancer and hormones

11th May 2023

Posted by Dr Michelle Wright

In the second part of the mini-series on breast cancer, Dr Michelle looks at new evidence around the hormonal contraception and breast cancer risk.

We’ve known for some time that taking the combined oral contraceptive pill – containing both oestrogen and progestogen – carries a small increased risk of breast cancer.  

But we didn’t really know much about breast cancer risk for progestogen-only contraception: the mini-pill, progestogen implants, or injectable progestogen until the results of a study carried out by the University of Oxford in the UK were published in March this year. It looked at around 9500 women under 50 diagnosed with breast cancer between 1996 and 2017, comparing them to around 18,000 women without breast cancer. 

The findings showed that 44% of women diagnosed with breast cancer compared to 39% of women in the control group had been prescribed hormonal contraceptives for an average of 3 years before their breast cancer diagnosis. And the study concluded that there was a 20-30% increase in breast cancer risk for women currently, or recently using any type of hormonal contraception.  

Of course, this made the headlines because it sounds like a big percentage increase, as relative risks always do.  

Listen on to find out Dr Michelle’s advice.

Subscribe to this podcast

More Articles

Bad Habits

Mental Health, Physical Health, Podcast

Bad Habits

This week, Dr Michelle tackles bad habits – how to understand them and, more importantly, how to overcome them.

31st January 2025

The Importance of AEDs

First Aid, Physical Health, Podcast

The Importance of AEDs

This week, Dr Michelle talks about a device that has the power to save lives in just moments – an Automated External Defibrillator (or AED for short) – the importance of using one quickly, and how you can locate an AED in an emergency. Check out the Defikarte.ch and Staying Alive Apps to help you locate your nearest AED in an emergency.

24th January 2025

Staying Healthy in Cold Weather

Mental Health, Physical Health, Podcast

Staying Healthy in Cold Weather

In this week’s Health Matters, Dr Michelle dives into winter immunity – why it’s harder to stay healthy during the colder months, and how we can all support our immune systems.

9th January 2025

Stay in Touch

Keep up to date with all our latest training and courses