When it comes to birth control, the benefits are endless: relief of medical issues including endometriosis, lowering the risk of ovarian cysts, and preventing unplanned pregnancies.
Now, birth control can prevent endometrial cancer! Yay, birth control! In a new study published via The Lancet, it was revealed the pill has prevented 400,000 cases of endometrial cancer, while earlier studies have proven birth control cuts the risk of ovarian cancer in half.
If you don’t know what endometrial cancer is, that’s okay. Here’s the lowdown: the cancer starts in the cells lining the uterus and can spread if undetected for long periods of time. Luckily, the cancer is usually caught early on because it causes abnormal vaginal bleeding, but then the uterus has to be removed, which could be devastating for women planning on having children.
In the study, women who took the pill for 10 to 15 years cut their risk in half, yet doctors are still unsure why this is or how long the effects last. Since most women are diagnosed with endometrial cancer around age 55, the assumed time span is 30 years, because most women start using the pill in their 20s.
Though the pill doesn’t prevent illness forever, lowering your risk of cancer outweighs the possibility of being diagnosed early in life (amongst a long list of other benefits).
Original article via USA Today.
Image via Huffington Post.
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