Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

ox.ac.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 100 posts

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#61

Post by throwbadubadu »

afavour wrote: post #16
blindriver wrote: post #4

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…

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 t…

> 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?

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#62

Post by xyzelement »

projectazorian wrote: post #42
pfannkuchen wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t any “request” an input only? As opposed to a “command”.

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.

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"

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#63

Post by projectazorian »

throwntoday wrote: post #29
lazyasciiart wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

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.

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#64

Post by thfuran »

klyrs wrote: post #56
thfuran wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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?

I'm not sure if it counts as "the elephant in the room" when that's the stated purpose of the medication.

The elephant that is the room?

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#65

Post by blindriver »

warent wrote: post #43
blindriver wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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,…

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?

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#66

Post by jolux »

lockhouse wrote: post #57
twawaaay wrote: post #18

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 wi…

I’m curious if hormonal transgender treatments will have similar long term effects.

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.

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#67

Post by NineStarPoint »

lockhouse wrote: post #57
twawaaay wrote: post #18

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 wi…

I’m curious if hormonal transgender treatments will have similar long term effects.

It probably will yes. But it’s also measured against the heavily increased suicide risk of trans people who aren’t able to transition.

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#68

Post by emodendroket »

justinator wrote: post #51
emodendroket wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there some other solution for the problems it solves?

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…

It also is used to help with irregularities associated with periods. Seems like sidestepping the issue to say there are other acne remedies.

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#69

Post by pfannkuchen »

projectazorian wrote: post #42
pfannkuchen wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t any “request” an input only? As opposed to a “command”.

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.

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.

Re: Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer

#70

Post by emodendroket »

fsckboy wrote: post #54
emodendroket wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you'd prefer we use dysphemisms that support your view of it instead.

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.

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.
Post reply on HN