[HN Gopher] Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast
       cancer
        
       Author : AiaAidan
       Score  : 95 points
       Date   : 2023-03-25 17:59 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.ox.ac.uk)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.ox.ac.uk)
        
       | sterlind wrote:
       | Statistically significant, but slight (~25% increased risk, on
       | average.) Still not great.
       | 
       | Obviously, copper IUDs are an alternative for many, though they
       | have their downsides. One of the big uses of hormonal
       | contraception is managing heavy periods, PMDD and other medical
       | conditions. I had a friend who would throw up for days every time
       | she was on her period. It went away pretty completely on birth
       | control.
        
         | twawaaay wrote:
         | The magnitude of risk increase in percentage has to be
         | understood in context of baseline probability.
         | 
         | 25% additional chance of getting hit by lightning and 25%
         | additional chance of getting heart disease are two completely
         | different results -- I don't mind the first but I would be
         | scared by the second.
         | 
         | About 13% of women develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
         | 25% increase is then very significant, this is about additional
         | 4% chance of getting cancer.
        
           | jnwatson wrote:
           | Thank you for the context. The net increase in risk is what I
           | was looking for.
        
           | projectazorian wrote:
           | > About 13% of women develop breast cancer during their
           | lifetime. 25% increase is then very significant, this is
           | about additional 4% chance of getting cancer.
           | 
           | The study didn't measure lifetime risk, so your assertion is
           | not correct. It measured risk of acquiring breast cancer
           | before age 49. This is not the age when most women get breast
           | cancer. Average age of onset for breast cancer in the US is
           | 62.
        
             | twawaaay wrote:
             | While you are partly correct, the study just "didn't
             | measure". It means the study does not say anything about
             | getting cancer after 49. What it does not say is that there
             | isn't any increase after the age women typically stop using
             | contraceptives.
             | 
             | In particular, since we don't know the mechanism in which
             | contraceptives cause cancer, we can't say whether trend
             | ends when women stop taking them or will increase their
             | chance of getting cancer for the rest of their lives.
        
               | projectazorian wrote:
               | Yes, however, we have over a half century of data on
               | hormonal contraception at this point, more than enough to
               | measure the effect on lifetime risk.
               | 
               | This very large meta-study showed the increased risk is
               | no longer significant about ten years after stopping use:
               | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8656904/
               | 
               | (btw, got that link from this article about the study in
               | the OP, which points out potential confounders:
               | https://www.statnews.com/2023/03/21/small-rise-breast-
               | cancer...)
        
       | yieldcrv wrote:
       | > The researchers also note that although these findings provide
       | evidence about the short-term associations between hormonal
       | contraceptives and breast cancer risk, they do not provide
       | information regarding longer-term associations, or the impact of
       | total duration of contraceptive use on breast cancer risk, since
       | information on a woman's prescription record prior to joining a
       | participating GP practice would not have been available within
       | the CPRD database.
        
       | projectazorian wrote:
       | The headline is somewhat deceptive. This study doesn't assess
       | lifetime risk, just risk before age 49. Since most breast cancers
       | are diagnosed well after age 49, it needs to be assessed in that
       | light.
        
       | justinator wrote:
       | Hopefully soon, doctors that prescribe birth control for things
       | unrelated to birth control will now stop doing that as that's a
       | reasonably bad thing to do (IMHO IANAD)
        
         | emodendroket wrote:
         | Is there some other solution for the problems it solves?
        
           | justinator wrote:
           | Birth control is sometimes prescribed to help with heavy
           | period flow, which could be a symptom of a much worst issue
           | (endometriosis). But birth control is also prescribed to help
           | control acne, which in my humble, unprofessional opinion is
           | not a good use, and the risks far outweigh the benefit.
           | Weight loss is another reason it's prescribed. These sorts of
           | off-label perscription for a hormone are not... great IMHO.
           | 
           | Are there other solutions to acne, and weight loss? Yes.
           | Endometriosis is far more complicated.
        
             | emodendroket wrote:
             | It also is used to help with irregularities associated with
             | periods. Seems like sidestepping the issue to say there are
             | other acne remedies.
        
               | justinator wrote:
               | _> Seems like sidestepping the issue to say there are
               | other acne remedies._
               | 
               | My opinion is that estrogen hormone therapy is not the
               | best course of action for acne and is prescribed far too
               | much.
               | 
               | I literally do not know what your beef is with my
               | opinion, since you do not state yours, you just write in
               | weird, obtuse statements, which is common on hn in, I
               | would assume, an attempt to look smart on a subject, in
               | which you are not. See also: contrarianism.
        
         | cfu28 wrote:
         | I mean, this isn't new information for doctors. It's a pretty
         | well known fact that estrogen agonists can increase risks for
         | breast cancer - that's why decisions made about birth control
         | are patient centric and consider the patients risk factors.
         | 
         | For reference, risks of breast and cervical cancers are
         | increased in women who use oral contraceptives, whereas the
         | risks of endometrial, ovarian, and colorectal cancers are
         | actually reduced.
         | 
         | Also IANAD
        
       | twawaaay wrote:
       | In general any type of hormonal anything is probably dangerous.
       | Endocrine system is incredibly complex and connected in many
       | different, mostly unknown ways.
       | 
       | And contraceptives play with hormones that are central to what
       | makes women women.
       | 
       | These hormones are not just limited to regulating when eggs are
       | released from ovaries, they take part in a lot of other
       | processes. It is absolutely not surprising then that there will
       | be other effects of long term hormonal supplementation.
       | 
       | I think the best course of action would be to work on other, non-
       | hormonal contraceptive alternatives.
        
         | f38zf5vdt wrote:
         | > In general any type of hormonal anything is probably
         | dangerous. Endocrine system is incredibly complex and connected
         | in many different, mostly unknown ways.
         | 
         | By that logic sugar should be a controlled substance and we
         | should all be gonadectimized. Gonadectimized animals almost
         | always live longer.
         | 
         | > And contraceptives play with hormones that are central to
         | what makes women women.
         | 
         | Weirdly estrogen in utero is central to what makes male mice
         | male mice, and adult men adult men (20-55 pg/mL estradiol in
         | adult men or about 1/10th the level of adult women). Estradiol
         | plays many important roles in the body of all human adults.
         | 
         | > These hormones are not just limited to regulating when eggs
         | are released from ovaries, they take part in a lot of other
         | processes. It is absolutely not surprising then that there will
         | be other effects of long term hormonal supplementation.
         | 
         | > I think the best course of action would be to work on other,
         | non-hormonal contraceptive alternatives.
         | 
         | Maybe, maybe not, since chronic use of any medication will
         | result in chronic side effects and physical interventions such
         | as copper IUDs are also associated with a host of serious side
         | effects. The best course of action would be to develop
         | interventions that are safe in animal models, give them to
         | humans for a while, and monitor the outcomes, which is what is
         | going on here.
         | 
         | I'm surprised that the outcomes observed aren't worse, given
         | how strongly carcinogenic estrogens are on a dose-dependent
         | basis in animal models. Hormones are strange. Women with many
         | children have reduced amounts of breast cancer despite being
         | exposed to absolutely enormous levels of estrogens and
         | progesterone during and after pregnancy.
        
         | lockhouse wrote:
         | I'm curious if hormonal transgender treatments will have
         | similar long term effects.
        
           | jolux wrote:
           | It's already suspected though not proven (as far as I know)
           | that estradiol increases breast cancer risk, but I imagine
           | most of that is because it encourages significant breast
           | tissue growth.
        
             | ghqst wrote:
             | If I remember correctly this is at high dosages, so it
             | should be much safer in a normal dosage used for hrt.
        
               | gizmo686 wrote:
               | HRT as applied to gender dysphoria in transgender women
               | absolutely causes breast tissue growth. That is one of
               | the desired effects. Seeing as 99% of breast cancers
               | occur in women, and HRT causes the patient to have very
               | female like breasts, it would be surprising if the
               | patient did not see an increased risk of breast cancer
               | compared to not taking HRT. Weather or not their risk is
               | higher than the baseline risk for women is less obvious.
        
           | NineStarPoint wrote:
           | It probably will yes. But it's also measured against the
           | heavily increased suicide risk of trans people who aren't
           | able to transition.
        
             | unvx-n-banned wrote:
             | [flagged]
        
       | blindriver wrote:
       | Every single girlfriend I had, I asked her to get off
       | contraceptives because of the medical dangers and I didn't want
       | to be responsible for any problems associated with it. Instead I
       | took responsibility for making sure she wouldn't get pregnant.
       | One of my girlfriends actually got mad at me because I was *too*
       | careful about getting her pregnant, and interpreted that as me
       | not wanting to get married to her (which since we're not together
       | ended up being true I guess).
       | 
       | This doesn't work for everyone but I'm fairly responsible, and no
       | accidental pregnancies, so it worked for everyone I was with. The
       | same way went for my wife as well, and we have 2 kids now, with
       | no accidentals ones. I'm going to teach my son this as well, that
       | the responsibility is on both parties but as the man you need to
       | control what you can control and don't leave things to chance,
       | especially something as life changing/destroying as an accidental
       | pregnancy.
        
         | xyzelement wrote:
         | You are getting weird hate here. You identified a health risk
         | someone you cared about / loved was taking and strongly
         | encourage them to avoid it (and offered other solutions)
         | 
         | This is exactly what a proper partner does. Obviously you
         | didn't force anyone to do it, but being passionate about such a
         | topic is totally valid.
         | 
         | Your story reminds me of mine though - encouraged female
         | friends to avoid the pretty obvious health risk. And also have
         | two kids now and never before :)
        
         | mentalpiracy wrote:
         | >>> This doesn't work for everyone but I'm fairly responsible
         | 
         | chivalrous, even.
         | 
         | /s
        
         | afavour wrote:
         | To be clear: you would never be in any way responsible for
         | problems associated with your partner taking hormonal birth
         | control because it is a choice they make themselves for their
         | own body.
         | 
         | > Instead I took responsibility for making sure she wouldn't
         | get pregnant
         | 
         | You have to understand what a big statement that is. If she
         | _does_ get pregnant there's only one person guaranteed to have
         | to deal with the consequences of that, and that's her. Being
         | hesitant to transfer the responsibility to you is very
         | rational, being mad at you over the topic is understandable.
         | 
         | I know your intention is good throughout here but there's an
         | implication that you know what's better for their bodies than
         | they do. A better approach (IMO) is to inform them of the risks
         | (which you're right they may not know) and let them make their
         | own choice.
        
           | throwbadubadu wrote:
           | > If she does get pregnant there's only one person guaranteed
           | to have to deal with the consequences of that, and that's
           | her.
           | 
           | Don't get that, in most jurisdictions there is an almost
           | guaranteed second one?
        
             | projectazorian wrote:
             | No, because even if she chooses to terminate the pregnancy
             | and not tell the other party a thing, she is still
             | guaranteed to have to deal with the consequences of that
             | decision. Or if she miscarries before she even knows she is
             | pregnant, she has to deal with that, it's not a pleasant
             | experience for anyone. Etc.
        
           | thfuran wrote:
           | >it is a choice they make themselves for their own body
           | 
           | But not a choice made in a vacuum. It's a choice made in the
           | context of their relationship.
        
             | afavour wrote:
             | Not entirely, no. Women take birth control for a number of
             | reasons unrelated to pregnancy:
             | 
             | https://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/ss/slideshow-
             | birth-c...
             | 
             | The "context of a relationship" part is when a couple
             | decide to cease birth control in order to have a child
             | together. The OP is talking about still using birth
             | control, just different birth control that he would prefer
             | she use over the alternatives. Ultimately that should be
             | her choice because the end result to him (no pregnancy) is
             | the same.
        
               | thfuran wrote:
               | >Women take birth control for a number of reasons
               | unrelated to pregnancy
               | 
               | Yes, but don't forget about the elephant in the room:
               | There are a lot of women on birth control who wouldn't be
               | if they weren't trying to avoid pregnancy.
               | 
               | >Ultimately that should be her choice.
               | 
               | Were you under the impression that he was physically
               | preventing his girlfriends from taking birth control?
        
               | klyrs wrote:
               | I'm not sure if it counts as "the elephant in the room"
               | when that's the stated purpose of the medication.
        
               | thfuran wrote:
               | The elephant that is the room?
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | Melingo wrote:
         | My wife is doing it with nothing more than an app for 6 years
         | while using some hormone kit before.
         | 
         | I'm quite surprised how well this works but we are in a stable
         | relationship.
         | 
         | With or without plan b it would not be the end of our life's if
         | we would suddenly getting a child.
         | 
         | Not sure how I would see it if I would be 20 and not above 30
        
         | lazyasciiart wrote:
         | Wow. I'd probably break up with a guy who "asked me to get off
         | contraceptives". If you want to be responsible about preventing
         | pregnancy, that's fantastic. If you feel like that's any more
         | than _an input_ to her decision of whether to be on it, that 's
         | a pretty fundamental overreach.
        
           | warent wrote:
           | Maybe I'm being overly generous, it seems like it may be
           | possible for this kind of thing to be more of a request out
           | of support/concern for a loved one's health, rather than one
           | of control or knowing better than a woman. It has been my
           | understanding that many men don't consider such things.
           | 
           | My lady has had horrendous experiences with hormonal
           | contraceptives. Based on what we know of it, if she ever
           | expressed wanting to try it again, I'd ask she reconsiders,
           | or that we explore other options. She would appreciate that
           | as being thoughtful (not as me claiming to know what's better
           | for her, better than herself.)
           | 
           | Maybe it's all about context, I'm not sure
        
             | practice9 wrote:
             | > Maybe it's all about context, I'm not sure
             | 
             | +100
             | 
             | For everyone the circumstances and relationship dynamics
             | are different.
             | 
             | And it's kind of disheartening to read a well-intentioned
             | comment, see people assuming their own completely different
             | context and then getting slightly aggressive about it.
        
               | throwntoday wrote:
               | Go to any relationship subreddit and you'll see countless
               | comments where the slightest misstep is treated as some
               | indellible sin. It's terrifying how quickly these people
               | would forsake a loved one. So many unbelievably jaded and
               | cynical people influencing the thoughts of others.
        
               | emodendroket wrote:
               | Well, we've also been given the context that at least one
               | person in the relationship got upset with the demand.
        
               | warent wrote:
               | It's only disheartening to me because woman live in a
               | society where men perpetually behave like we know what's
               | best for them.
               | 
               | What you're reading as aggression, I'm reading as a
               | reasonable response to a perfectly plausible alternative
               | interpretation, which is that he knows what's best for
               | his girlfriends better than they do for themselves.
               | 
               | So many men have this corrupt mode of thinking that there
               | is now an entire US state issuing bounties on women
               | seeking control over their own bodies.
        
               | tines wrote:
               | > woman live in a society where men perpetually behave
               | like we know what's best for them.
               | 
               | Everyone lives in a society where everyone else behaves
               | like they know what's best for them. Men currently happen
               | to have more power to enact their plans, but it's about
               | power, not about gender, and all people who seek power
               | think that they know best.
        
               | hdjjhhvvhga wrote:
               | > a perfectly plausible alternative interpretation, which
               | is that he knows what's best for his girlfriends better
               | than they do for themselves.
               | 
               | We are literally commenting on the article confirming
               | using hormonal contraceptives increases the risk of
               | cancer. So if your partner is using these you basically
               | have two options: 1) ignore the issue and maybe not even
               | mention it to her as this could be misinterpreted as
               | influencing her decision, 2) address it out of pure
               | concern for her future, even years ahead when you're no
               | longer together.
        
             | projectazorian wrote:
             | Discussing changes to birth control decisions in the
             | context of a long term partnership is not, in my opinion,
             | the same as having a policy of telling every woman you date
             | to stop using contraceptives.
        
               | warent wrote:
               | You're right. However they did say they "ask" not "tell";
               | it was not necessarily a demand. It's hard to know
               | exactly how the conversations went
        
           | hdjjhhvvhga wrote:
           | I see your point but I think the parent didn't mean "ask" as
           | in "told", it's obvious (at least to me!) that such decisions
           | are taken by the woman only. I interpret this as, "I take the
           | full responsibility for not making you pregnant. You can
           | relax now and you don't need to increase the risk of getting
           | cancer out of fear of pregnancy."
        
           | kerpotgh wrote:
           | [dead]
        
           | blindriver wrote:
           | Meh. It's not particularly controversial so you're being
           | overly dramatic.
           | 
           | I didn't force anyone, we had an adult conversation about it
           | and all my gfs were on the same page. If any one of my gfs
           | wanted to stay on contraceptives in the first place, then
           | great, I would still do the exact same thing to avoid getting
           | her pregnant in case she missed a day, etc. My wife wasn't on
           | contraceptives in the first place so it was basically a non-
           | conversation.
           | 
           | I think having an adult conversation is basic expectations
           | for any healthy relationship. If you interpret broaching a
           | subject as being cause for breaking up with someone... well,
           | that's your prerogative.
        
             | warent wrote:
             | Communication is a two way road. When you're talking about
             | a sensitive topic and people don't know the context of you
             | who are, don't be surprised when you are interpreted in a
             | negative light.
             | 
             | Based on your schoolyard dismissiveness here, it looks like
             | they're spot on and you don't actually care much for adult
             | conversations. You can dismiss that all you want but when
             | people view us negatively in situations like this, it only
             | hurts ourselves, so it's usually our responsibility to
             | communicate better
        
               | blindriver wrote:
               | I don't feel the need to expend energy on anyone who
               | immediately takes an overly negative opinion on a fairly
               | benign sentence. We both know that nothing I say will
               | change anyone's opinion, so why pretend that I should
               | defend myself?
        
             | fsckboy wrote:
             | > _Meh. It 's not particularly controversial so you're
             | being overly dramatic._
             | 
             | you're denying you have any unconscious motivation to "be
             | controlling," as you again display in your response to GP's
             | reasonable personal opinion.
        
               | blindriver wrote:
               | I thought the overly negative response unreasonable, and
               | I have enough experience on the Internet to know that
               | nothing I write will change their opinion, so I don't
               | want to extend the conversation.
               | 
               | I don't feel any particular need to defend my "Internet
               | honor" and if anyone wants to interpret my post as some
               | Handmaid's Tale order for women to submit to my demands,
               | well that's their prerogative.
        
           | pfannkuchen wrote:
           | Isn't any "request" an input only? As opposed to a "command".
        
             | asmor wrote:
             | It very much depends on context where request end and
             | coersion starts. I'd be uncomfortable handing control over
             | contraception use over to someone I've known for not so
             | long. Just like a lot of guys use condoms because they
             | don't trust the word of a women when she's saying she's on
             | contraceptives.
        
             | projectazorian wrote:
             | In places like the US where women's reproductive rights are
             | highly contested, many women don't take well to men making
             | unsolicited requests about their birth control decisions.
             | Perhaps this isn't the case everywhere, but this site has a
             | very US-heavy readership so it seems reasonable to have
             | that context be the default.
        
               | xyzelement wrote:
               | The person who started this thread was having a
               | conversation with his girlfriend as part of a committed
               | relationship, which seems way more important context than
               | what you think is "contested in the US"
        
               | projectazorian wrote:
               | "Every single girlfriend I had, I asked her to get off
               | contraceptives" is the tone of someone who is not
               | interested in conversation and wants control. Bottom
               | line.
        
               | xyzelement wrote:
               | I feel like I am taking crazy pills. How does the word
               | "ask" imply control? They can say no.
        
               | shawnz wrote:
               | When your boss asks you to take a ticket, when a parent
               | asks their son to clean their room, when a cop asks a
               | citizen to identify themselves, you don't think those
               | situations imply control? When a romantic partner asks
               | you to change the drugs you are taking, don't you think
               | there is some implication that their satisfaction with
               | the relationship is contingent on it? Maybe we are
               | getting too into the semantics here but I think it's
               | pretty overbearing to make such a request and position it
               | as anything more than a suggestion.
        
               | xyzelement wrote:
               | When a cop "asks," the citizen doesn't get to tell her to
               | fuck off. The control is implied by the role not by the
               | word "ask."
               | 
               | This dude's girlfriends are free to tell him to fuck off
               | (as one did) so there's no actual control.
               | 
               | There's a difference between "control" and "being on the
               | same page about big deal stuff." I don't think my wife
               | would marry me if I was a heavy drug user for example.
               | That's not her controlling my life, it's her having a
               | standard for herself. If we are not on the same page we
               | just don't get married.
               | 
               | Presumably this dude doesn't want to date/marry someone
               | who takes on heavy health risk when other options are
               | available, especially when the nature of his can impact
               | fertility and children. That's a very reasonable stance
               | for him to take in his own life.
        
               | pfannkuchen wrote:
               | Maybe I live in a bubble, but the disagreement tends to
               | be between different regions, not between individuals
               | within a region. So unless the woman is a transplant from
               | a pro reproductive rights region to an anti reproductive
               | rights region, I don't think the sort of interpersonal
               | conflict you have in mind is likely to occur, where the
               | man is vehemently anti reproductive rights and the woman
               | vehemently pro. At least I believe it happens
               | infrequently enough to not assume it as a default.
        
           | throwntoday wrote:
           | Why does it upset you that GP would be concerned for his GF's
           | health? I also ask my GF's not to take oral contraceptives
           | because of guilt that they're doing damage to their body for
           | me. None have ever responded negatively, and at the end of
           | the day it was a request. All agreed they did not feel great
           | when taking the pills, but continued because of pressure by
           | society/previous partners.
        
             | projectazorian wrote:
             | Because it's likely that you and GP do not understand the
             | risks as well as you think you do. You are likely not a MD,
             | and even if you were, you wouldn't be the expert on your
             | partner's body, they are. The lack of humility is the
             | issue.
             | 
             | Now if your partner brings the topic up to you and mentions
             | health issues they're experiencing then sure, it's fine to
             | offer your view, but that's not how it sounds to us
             | reading.
        
             | blindriver wrote:
             | [flagged]
        
         | ziziyO wrote:
         | > One of my girlfriends actually got mad
         | 
         | Am surprised only one did.
        
       | sacrosancty wrote:
       | [flagged]
        
         | phnofive wrote:
         | Taking this at face value, I don't think so - but it has been
         | linked with cervical and uterine cancers.
        
       | AiaAidan wrote:
       | [flagged]
        
         | fsckboy wrote:
         | i suppose by "permanent birth control" you mean sterilizing
         | onesself? i can't stand euphemisms, like "reproductive freedom"
         | means terminating reproductees with extreme prejudice (i had to
         | use a euphemism for that or half the people here would freak
         | out)
         | 
         | (in this debate, I'm on the side of Huxley and Orwell, and
         | against Hitler, Mao and Stalin. which side are you guys on?)
        
           | emodendroket wrote:
           | So you'd prefer we use dysphemisms that support your view of
           | it instead.
        
             | fsckboy wrote:
             | sterilization isn't my view, it's what it is. permanent
             | birth control could include suicide, it's ambiguous.
             | 
             | the only reason one would avoid what you are terming
             | dysphemisms is if you are advocating that people do more of
             | something and you wish to hide what it is.
        
               | emodendroket wrote:
               | Calling abortion (which is only one element of what is
               | meant by "reproductive freedom") "terminating
               | reproductees with extreme prejudice" is a dysphemism by
               | any reasonable standard.
        
         | asmor wrote:
         | Okay ChatGPT.
        
           | [deleted]
        
       | fnordpiglet wrote:
       | After I had the kids I wanted, I got a vasectomy. It's a painless
       | and quick and largely reversible procedure with no side effects
       | and offers 100% contraception. If you care about your partner and
       | are "done," I highly recommend it.
        
         | emodendroket wrote:
         | That's all well and good but there are a lot of situations
         | where women go for birth control where that isn't much of an
         | option.
        
           | fnordpiglet wrote:
           | I certainly didn't say anything to preclude that. In fact
           | unless the woman is certain of the man, she should control
           | her own contraception. The consequence of a mistake falls
           | disproportionately on her and, well, men are pretty much all
           | assholes, even the well intentioned ones. My message, though,
           | was for men - not for women. Vasectomies are a man's choice,
           | and the only one we can make that fully insulates the woman
           | in our life from the consequences of sex. Any other measure a
           | man can take is pretty poor in it's effectiveness.
        
         | gnicholas wrote:
         | A few of my friends have looked into this and decided against
         | because it is actually not as reversible as they initially
         | thought.
         | 
         | What did your doctor tell you about reversibility?
        
         | AiaAidan wrote:
         | Thanks for sharing your positive experience - it's great to
         | hear that the procedure was painless and quick, and has given
         | you and your partner a reliable form of contraception. More
         | important, having a close person in your life whom you can
         | trust is truly a life jackpot! In the current "epidemic of
         | loneliness," it's more important than ever to have strong
         | personal connections.
        
         | jawns wrote:
         | Not quite 100%.
         | 
         | > The early failure rate of vasectomy (presence of motile sperm
         | in the ejaculate at 3-6 months post-vasectomy) is in the range
         | of 0.3-9% and the late failure rate is in the range of
         | 0.04-0.08%.
         | 
         | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5110415/
         | 
         | 8 out of 10,000 men is still a very low failure rate, although
         | keep in mind that typically failure rates for
         | contraceptives/sterilization are per annum.
         | 
         | So if you get a vasectomy with a 0.08% failure rate and then
         | have sex for 30 years ... 0.08% * 30 = 2.4%.
        
           | HDMI_Cable wrote:
           | To be fair, that's still a better 30-year failure rate than
           | most contraceptives:
           | 
           | Typical hormonal IUD annual failure rate = .1% [1].
           | 
           | .1% * 30 years = 3%.
           | 
           | Considering that one would have to get the hormonal IUD
           | replaced (painful!!) every 3-8 years [1], while vasectomies
           | only require check-ups two times after the procedure (not
           | painful) after 1-2 months, and at one's discretion
           | afterwards, that's a way better value proposition.
        
       | yamrzou wrote:
       | The title is misleading. It should be:
       | 
       | Any type of hormonal contraceptive _is associated_ with an
       | increased risk of breast cancer.
        
         | LorenPechtel wrote:
         | Yeah--there's a factor here that messes up the data. Namely,
         | that pregnancy to term is associated with a *reduction* in
         | breast cancer, the earlier the pregnancy the bigger the effect.
         | 
         | This is the reason behind the "pro-life" claim that abortion
         | causes breast cancer--no, it simply doesn't provide the
         | protection. Never-pregnant vs had-abortion is the same risk.
         | Hormonal contraception is more effective and will reduce the
         | oops rate and thus would be expected to show a positive
         | correlation with breast cancer.
         | 
         | (And the oops rate is also why for a young non-smoker the risk
         | of the pill is *negative* even if the response to an oops is an
         | immediate abortion. Carrying it to term increases the effect by
         | at least an order of magnitude.)
        
           | yamrzou wrote:
           | I think that factor is taken into account here:
           | 
           | > These calculations were then adjusted to take into account
           | established risk factors such as body mass index (BMI),
           | _number of recorded births, and the time since a woman's last
           | birth_.
           | 
           | Is it the same one?
        
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