Taking Birth Control/Hormone medication

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Chloe3278
Chloe3278 Member Posts: 31

Hey again,

I have been going really well and will hopefully have my tissue expander exchange in two months. I am not sure if i made this topic in the correct thread. But i was wondering if it is possible for a breast cancer 'survivor' (or in my case DCIS) to go on BIRTH CONTROL PILLS. I was on Yasmin before my diagnosis and it is the only thing that worked for my acne, hair loss, irregular periods (btw, i do not have PCOS).

I want to return on the pill, however my surgeon has told me i can never take the pill again as it increases the chance of BC returning. I am looking into alternatives (ie. Spironolactone) however it seems that any medication with hormones slightly increases the chance of hormone related cancers.

My hormones ARE messed up and fixing it with medication is the only solution (i've tried natural remedies, antibiotics and even accutane). I will bring this up again with my surgeon next week.

Any of you ladies out there able to take birth control pills/other hormone medication for pcos etc.

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  • Michelle_in_cornland
    Michelle_in_cornland Member Posts: 1,689
    edited October 2017

    How old are you? Your doctor will probably not prescribe birth control for you ever again, since you were hormonally positive. Will you be taking an anti hormonal - Tamoxifen, etc.? As for the acne, a good esthetician and dermatologist can help solve those issues directly. Hair loss can be treated by other meds. Check out my new thread on what we can do for our hair while taking anti hormonals. When did you have surgery and are you scheduled for any other treatments?

  • Icietla
    Icietla Member Posts: 1,265
    edited October 2017

    Michelle -- Chloe is nineteen years old.

    Chloe -- I had three courses of Accutane in my thirties. It took that much Accutane to get my skin tolerably cleared up. Before that, the only other treatment that worked for me was an "off-label" combination (it was advised by a Dermatologist) of three treatment types, concurrent. It was very painful, so I did not keep it up. If you take Accutane again, you need to take great care that any compensating moisturizers you use do not have hormones or hormone-disrupting ingredients.

    Anything you use or consider using on or in your body -- anything and everything! -- first check with your Doctors about it, providing them with all the labeling therefor.

    If you and your partner are in a stable, monogamous relationship, an IUD may be an option for your birth control. Not all of the IUDs are hormone-eluting. Some of the BCO members use the copper IUD ParaGard. Your Gynecologist should know if there are any other IUDs that might be appropriate for your case. Later in life, you will have options for permanent birth control.

    https://community.breastcancer.org/posts/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search_builder%5Bkeyword%5D=paragard&search_builder%5Bauthor%5D=&search_builder%5Bsource%5D=&search_builder%5Bdate_range%5D=&commit=Search

    I will be back soon with questions about your hair.

  • kcat2013
    kcat2013 Member Posts: 391
    edited October 2017

    Chloe, Before breast cancer I used the pill for many years because of heavy heavy periods, ovarian cysts, and serious cramping. My gynecologist told me that the birth control pill will be forever off the table as an option for me because of my bc diagnosis. However, at my last appointment we had a good discussion about how to handle my periods (which we expect to resume soon). I was honest with her about my concerns about managing them without the pill. For birth control a non-hormonal IUD is pretty much the only non-surgical option. But my doctor did tell me that rarely she will recommend (with an oncologists concurrence) a low dose hormonal IUD to be placed if a woman's period is causing health problems that can't be addressed in another way (too heavy, etc). She said she prefers never to use hormonal birth control in breast cancer patients but that sometimes the benefits/risks of other health problems have to be weighed. The low dose IUD, I think it was called Skyla--maybe.., uses much lower amounts of hormones than the pill so it's a better choice if one absolutely has to be on hormonal birth control and only as a last resort. Anyway, I'd suggest you talk to a gynecologist who has experience in working with breast cancer patients and also I second the recommendation to see a dermatologist for the acne and hair loss--this is their area of expertise!


  • MTwoman
    MTwoman Member Posts: 2,704
    edited October 2017

    chloe, So very sorry that you are having to deal with all of the bc sh*t at your age. I was hormone receptor negative and every one of my providers for the last 14 years has still been adamant that I was to take nothing hormonal, including "natural" and plant based products (like black cohosh). Talk to your provider about the symtpoms for which you are looking for relief and see what your alternatives are, as the others suggested, after bc all hormonal bc is off the table.

  • Chloe3278
    Chloe3278 Member Posts: 31
    edited October 2017

    wow! GREAT news! Came back from my appointment with my cancer team, and my surgeons said it’s fine for me to return to Yasmin! I told her all my concerns and she said the breast cancer risk that comes with birth control is almost non-existent for me. Something else I found out today; the chance of me getting breast cancer is actually half of the general population because I only had low grade dcis, and I now don’t have any breast tissue and my chance of getting BC is lower than 0.5%.I am so surprised and happy. Thanks for Everyone that replied, but I did not expect my surgeon to say that. I'm taking my first pill tonight :D

  • Peetie1
    Peetie1 Member Posts: 73
    edited October 2017

    I am so happy that it worked out for you Chloe!

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