Mirena IUD?

I have a copper IUD, Mona Lisa, since 6 years. I prefer it to hormones. Went off the pill in 2004, as I thought it wasn't natural to 'fool around' with hormones and 'control' periods. Docs said a copper IUD is the best choice if one has had ER/PR+ cancer (save condoms).

Yesterday I was told that a co-worker has recently found out that she has breast cancer. That she too had the Mirena IUD. And that it could have caused her cancer. This has me very concerned because I am almost 42yrs old and has had a Mirena IUD for almost 7yrs now. Seven yrs ago I was diagnosed with precancerous cells in my uterus and after bleeding non stop from Sept. 24th till after New Years and having 2 DNCs was advised to get the Mirena to help eliminate the cells. It worked the cells went away but now I'm wondering did I trade precancer for cancer. I am going to call my GYN Dr on Monday and request a mammo. if that comes back fine then I'm gonna tell my Dr I wanna schedule a partial hysterectomy and have the IUD taken out PRONTO!!! Too MANY women with breast cancer that had IUDs for me to keep mine. I only pray its not to late. My heart goes out to all of you.

Nicci - this is directly from Mirena website.  Levonorgestrel is also know as Plan B birth control, and is made of progestins.

http://www.mirena-us.com/index.jsp?WT.mc_id=MIS119497&WT.srch=

Mirena is a soft, flexible IUD that releases small amounts of hormone locally into your uterus. It gives you birth control you can count on-that lasts for as long as you want, for up to 5 years.

Indications & Usage
Mirena (levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system) is a hormone-releasing system placed in your uterus to prevent pregnancy for as long as you want for up to 5 years. Mirena also treats heavy periods in women who choose intrauterine contraception.

and from the FAQ page, on who should not use Mirena

Who should not use Mirena?
Only you and your healthcare provider can decide if Mirena is right for you. As the two of you discuss your options, there are a number of things you should share-like your general health, current or past health conditions, sexual history and whether you'd like to have more children in the future.
Mirena is not appropriate for women who:
Might be pregnant
Have had a serious pelvic infection called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), unless you have had a normal pregnancy after the infection went away
Have an untreated pelvic infection now
Have had a serious pelvic infection in the past 3 months after a pregnancy
Can get infections easily. For example, if you have
More than one sexual partner or your partner has more than one partner
Problems with your immune system
Intravenous drugs abuse
Have or suspect you might have cancer of the uterus or cervix
Have bleeding from the vagina that has not been explained
Have liver disease or a liver tumor
Have breast cancer now or in the past or suspect you have breast cancer
Have an intrauterine device in your uterus already
Have a condition of the uterus that changes the shape of the uterine cavity, such as large fibroid tumors
Are allergic to levonorgestrel, silicone or polyethylene

Can you share where you saw on the Mirena website that it does not emit any hormones? I am interested to see that.

I also had a Mirena IUD, from July of 2007 - July of 2010, when I insisted it be removed due to the side effects I had experienced, primarily massive weight gain that I could not get rid of.  The week after I had the damn thing inserted, my body "blew up" similar to what happened to me when I first became pregnant both times.  I should have known something was wrong with the thing then, but was so thrilled to not have periods and not have to worry about birth control.  Well, August of 2011 I was diagnosed with IDC Stage IIa.  I am absolutely certain the Mirena IUD is the cause.  I can't tell you how angry I am about that.  Someone needs to start a class action suit and get that thing yanked off the market before more women are harmed.

I don't think they're being "tricky," it sounds truthful to me:  They're not going to report a risk if none of their studies looked at that factor.  That would just be making stuff up.

I suspect they've listed the possible associated risk as a CYA situation.  Remember that 1 in 8 women will have breast cancer, there will inevitably be some overlap with women who have a Mirena IUD.  

I was on assorted birth control pills for 17 years, and I'm more likely to blame that for my bc than the Mirena, which I've only had two and a half years.  The pills put higher doses of hormones throughout my body, the Mirena only puts a very small amount directly into the uterus.  

My MO said I could keep or remove my Mirena, as I liked, and I think I'm going to keep it.  I probably won't replace it after the five years is up, but for now I'm going to keep the one I have.

Well, it says on the website:



"Women who currently have or have had breast cancer, or have a suspicion of breast cancer, should not use hormonal contraception because breast cancer is a hormone-sensitive tumor.



Spontaneous reports of breast cancer have been received during postmarketing experience with Mirena. Because spontaneous reports are voluntary and from a population of uncertain size, it is not possible to use postmarketing data to reliably estimate the frequency or establish causal relationship to drug exposure. Two observational studies have not provided evidence of an increased risk of breast cancer during the use of Mirena."



Which means Mirena is contraindicated along with all other birth control methods that have hormones. Mirena has a much lower dose of estrogen, and it's released directly to the uterus, rather than The Pill which puts larger amounts of hormones all through the body. Thus, it's much safer.



Also, their statement says they have done NO clinical trials specifically looking at breast cancer rates among women who use Mirena.

On top of that, clinical trials looking at breast cancer rates in women who have used The Pill have been inconclusive. Some show an increased risk, others show no increased risk. The Mirena is just another hormone-delivery device, there's nothing special about it that would make it more likely to increase bc risk than any other hormonal birth control.



Anyway, I'm going to be on tamoxifen so won't that block the estrogen anyway? The life cycle of my IUD will be up before my tamoxifen runs out. I'd rather have the IUD in there to prevent pregnancy. I'll probably just get the copper IUD next time, but I'm not worried about keeping my Mirena for now.

I am super new, just DX on Monday and just learned about the Mirena thing, but had mine inserted mid-July after the birth of my second daughter (5mo.) and now have breast cancer? Def something I am going to look into....

Mzmerz, You make a great point! It isn't worth the risk. And Cottentail - you are right - not all Mirena users who developed cancer... developed cancer because of the Mirena. But we are not talking about the "all" we are acknowledging the fact that "some" users have. Just because a company hasn't run a study - yet  - on a particular consumer complaint - doesn't mean one should have a false sense of product security. Think cigarettes and doctors smoking in commercials... If you look at the literature put out by the Mirena's company - dated 2009 - it mentions no warning to women with breast cancer not to use the Mirena IUD product. It mentions no warning to women just having had a child NOT to use it. It is now 2012 - the Mirena company's literature now warns each of these groups of women NOT TO USE their product. Hmmmm That's called smart business/marketing 101. In short - their change to their "warning label" is a nice way to create  adramable accountability for PR purposes -usually a company makes such changes prior to  a release of an "outside" agency's conclusive study.  

You are right, Mzmerz, taking Tamoxifen is not 100% effective for all women. I'm so sorry. I am curious as to what effects the Mirena has on the Tamoxifen's effectiveness... My brother - an oncologist (Breast Cancer...) - has more than once had me stop taking this or that herb/vitamin - eating this or that food - all because of the chance of my lowering the Tamoxifen's effectiveness.  

Mzmerz, thanks for the thoughtful insight!

I think anyone who is no longer comfortable with their Mirena should have it removed.

Where I have problems is when people start preaching their opinions as facts.  Until I see a reputable study proving that Mirena is any more likely to contribute to bc than any other hormonal birth control, I honestly can't believe that it does.  There are also some theories that immune therapy could contribute to cancer, but until there is proof I will continue getting my allergy shots.

I personally put more stock into the hormones pumped into meat and dairy contributing to bc (read The China Study), and I no longer consume those things.  

On 2005 I was diagnosed with stage 2 BC. Just 6 months prior I had my first Mirena IUD inserted. This one dislodged and caused excessive bleeding. The same day they removed it they placed a second one because the first one might have not been placed deep enough. So I got a double initial dose of hormones. I come from a huge family of zero cancer on either side. No cancer of any kind on anyone. The correlation with mirena has only been my personal deductions. My Gyno has not removed it even though its going on 8 years. Is there really a lawsuit against Bayer??

If you are interested, there is a law firm that is investigating the connection between Mirena and Cancer.  If you are inclined, please contact them.  I KNOW there is a correlation.  There is nothing lost by contacting them.

http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/Mirena-IUD

I was diagnosed in 2010 with dcis grade 3/3 been on tamoxifen for 4 years now. I did have the mirena in for almost 2years when diagnosed all my doctors kept telling me I could leave it in. Now I'm working on my second one and my onc tells me to remove after the multiple times I asked her about it. So I'm gonna have it removed and look into tubal ligation.  I also get headaches often could be the mirena.

Hi I had my last mammogram on the 28th of May 2014 & got a letter to say it was clear & to come back in two years for next mammogram. Five months to the day of mammogram 28th of October I found my lump in my right breast. I was diagnosed with ( Invasive ductal carcinoma ) the 6th November 2014. I saw the breast surgeon on the 11th November & he said I should have my marina taken out before surgery So I had my marina taken out that afternoon . I had my surgery on the 18th November . Now finding this forum I'm thinking is the Marina cause of my breast cancer?

I too had a mirena and from the day I had it my life took a turn to the worse. It caused my BC, PCOS and an array of other health problems such as severe depression and mood swings and complete lack of interest in sex. Once I had it removed I had to deal with another set of new symptoms such as heavy bleeding and more mood swings. I made several changes to my diet and took several supplements, such as I3C, iodine and progesterone cream, and was able after a few months to recover and resume my normal life.

You can find several studies here on mirena and its relationship to many diseases (mostly hormonally-related) such as PCOS and endometriosis: http://detoxscientific.com/mirena-weight-gain/

According to this study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17706209

"Subgroup analysis showed that women using the LNG IUS (n = 38) at the time of breast cancer diagnosis (and who continued its use) had a statistically significantly increased risk of recurrence (adjusted hazard ratio, 3.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-11.35) compared with patients in the control group."

I strongly recommend to any woman who already has a mirena or is considering having one to remove it immediately and think twice about having it.

you can add me to the list. I'm 37 no history of breast cancer in the family. Had the mirena for 7 years. Now have IDC stage 1-2 (newly diagnosed) and is both er+ and PR+. Her2-

It's an odd coincidence to see so many under 45 with no family history and relatively healthy seem to have just 1 thing in common.

It looks like mine is coming out ASAP.