Cancer may not be on your radar, especially if you’re relatively young and healthy. But it should be, regardless of your age or family history.
Some of the cancers that most often affect women are breast, colorectal, endometrial, lung, cervical, skin, and ovarian cancers. Knowing about these cancers and what you can do to help prevent them or find them early (when they are small, haven’t spread, and might be easier to treat), may help save your life.
Each year, nearly 90,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with gynecologic cancer, such as endometrial (also known as uterine cancer), ovarian cancer, or cervical cancer. More than 242,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer.
What is Plan B?
Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) is an over-the-counter (OTC) emergency contraceptive approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the FDA, Plan B can work in two ways:
- stopping the ovary from releasing an egg
- preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus
Because Plan B stops the ovaries from releasing an egg, the sperm has nothing to fertilize, and pregnancy will not occur. If sperm fertilizes an egg, Plan B One-Step prevents the fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus, making pregnancy impossible.
For best results, Plan B is taken as soon as possible after having sex without using a condom or another form of barrier birth control, or if contraception has failed. Millions of women across the world use Plan B and it has become even more popular after it became an over-the-counter medication.
Does Plan B Cause Cancer?
The answer is not a straightforward one, but in this article, we have pooled together relevant data, studies, and articles related to the links between Plan B and cancer to help you make an informed medication safety decision.
Plan B and breast cancer risk
A review of 54 studies, conducted by the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer in 1992, showed that women who took birth control pills like Plan B had a slightly higher risk of breast cancer than women who had never taken the pill. But 10 years after the women stopped taking birth control pills, their increased risk disappeared.
Plan B and cervical cancer risk
Women who take birth control pills such as Plan B are more likely to be infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), according to an analysis of studies conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization. The risk was highest in women who had used the pill for 10 years or more.
However, HPV almost always is contracted as a result of having sex with an infected partner and isn’t likely a direct result of the hormones in the pill, reports the National Cancer Institute. As with breast cancer, the increased risk decreases over time, after a woman stops taking birth control pills.
Plan B and liver cancer risk
Women who take the pill may have an increased risk of benign liver tumors. These tumors rarely become cancerous but may rupture or bleed, one study found.
Plan B and cervical cancer risk
Birth control pills like Plan B have been shown, in fact, to lower a woman’s risk for cervical cancer. Some studies suggest that progestin-only pills have a better effect than combination pills. The longer a woman takes oral contraceptives, the lower her risk is, so a woman taking emergency contraception only once is unlikely to see any benefits.
Plan B and endometrial cancer risk
The pill has been shown to lower a woman’s risk of endometrial cancer; the longer she takes it, the longer her risk is lowered.
So, what does all this mean?
Currently, there is no conclusive evidence suggesting emergency contraceptive pills like Plan B increase or decrease a woman’s risk of cancer. Groups including the American Medical Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have deemed it safe and effective when used as intended.
Alternatives to Plan B
If you are interested in contraception that doesn’t involve the pill, know that there are plenty of options for preventing unplanned pregnancy. Some of these options also help with period discomfort or heavy bleeding. Talk with your healthcare provider about which option is best for you. Some methods are more effective at reducing your risk of pregnancy than others, and none are 100% effective. Keep in mind that only condoms reduce your risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection like HIV. All of the other methods have no reduction in STIs.
