Infertility Drugs

A friend of mine made mention that there were Studies done that show certain infertility medications have been linked to cancer-yet couldn't name any

and I quote "so you go through all this trouble to have the kid but then you won't be around to enjoy the kid"

Does anyone else wonder what all of these infertility drugs we have to take are going to do to us down the road.

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I wonder about it, too.

The woman I wrote about yesterday actually came up to me last year and said that I should be checked for cancer because who the hell knows what I did to my body.

I asked her to show me her medical degree as I've done some research and couldn't find anything conclusive that links fertility meds to cancers.

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I do. Personally I think most medication the give you causes more problems then your initial problem. I do not think I would do anything but unmedicated IUI's.

I have family who got cancer from meds.

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I'm sorry that someone in your family has gotten cancer from meds. Can you be a little more specific about which "meds"? Which type of cancer, etc? Making a general statement like that on an IF board is a little unsettling to me.

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It's not so much "the drugs" per se, but what it does to your body that may link to cancer. Upping certain hormones like estrogen unnaturally can be problematic for some women. For myself, I found the benefits of the medications certainly outweighed the risks (no family history of breast or ovarian cancer) not to mention being aware of the potential dangers and being proactive and honest with your other health care providers about your infertility treatment. I for one would have no shot at pregnancy with out meds. So for me, there really is no choice but to make educated decisions, be proactive and diligent. I also take it with a grain of salt...look at BCP's. For years they still can't say with certainity if they lower some risks of cancer but raises others...

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The largest cohort study so far to have examined the association between ovarian
stimulation and risk of subsequent cancers consisted of 10,358 Australian women
who were referred for in vitro fertilization (IVF).46 Half of the cohort underwent
ovarian stimulation to induce multiple follicles (“exposed” group) whereas the
remaining women were untreated or had natural cycles without ovarian stimulation
(“unexposed” group). There was no evidence that ovarian stimulation was associated
with an increased risk of ovarian cancer but the follow-up of the cohort was
short (median length of follow-up for the exposed group was only five years).
This cohort was subsequently enlarged to include 20,656 IVF women who were
exposed to fertility drugs and 9044 who were not.47 The incidence of breast and
ovarian cancers was no higher than expected. The incidence of uterine cancer
was significantly higher than expected (RR=2.47 ; 95% CI=1.18, 5.18) in the
unexposed group but not in the exposed one. Women with unexplained infertility,
regardless of their exposure to ovarian stimulation, had a higher incidence of
uterine (RR=4.59 ; 95% CI=1.91, 11.0) and ovarian (RR=2.64 ; 95% CI=1.10,
6.35) cancers than expected. The main advantages of this study are its large
sample size and the availability of data on type of infertility and type of
treatment administered in the participating IVF centres. The main weaknesses are
the relatively low exposure levels (59% of the women in the exposed group had
less than three cycles of treatment, with only 11% having had six or more cycles),
the possibility of misclassification as information on exposure to fertility drugs
outside the participating centres was not available, the lack of data on potential
confounding factors such as gravidity and oral contraceptive use and the still
relatively short follow-up (median of seven years for women exposed to ovarian
stimulation).

Study

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The incidence of certain cancers (i.e. breast) is so high...and the factors that lead to increased relative risk to develop a female reproductive cancer (early age of onset of menarche, late menopause, ect)...are so many: it's hard to say that a few months on a certain therapy will definitely led to something.

Medical problems such as "cancer & heart disease" are very multifactorial. In retrospect, people can always try to find one factor to blame.

And on the positive side: estrogen is highly protective against stroke and heart disease...

In my case, as said before, benefits outweigh risks. For me, the decision is like not driving due to the risk of getting into a car accident.

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speaking for myself : the benefits sure as heck outweigh the possible risks.

Lets face it EVERYTHING we eat drink and breathe leads us to have a higher chance of cancer. Long Island has a high rate of breast cancer do u see everyone leaving here?
Read the fine print of every medication out there - most - if not all - have increased risks.

That being said, i never hesitated taking any medication to treat my IF. Without the help of these drugs I (and many women i know) would never be pregnant or have children.

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I am 57 years old and never took any kind of fertility or other medications. There is no history of cancer on both sides of my family and I was diagnosed with NHL stage 111 last year. I think that getting cancer really doesnt depend on medication and is most of the time just random bad luck. You can't worry about things you cant change or prevent. You just have to try to live as healthy a life as possible and when medication is needed to reach a goal you just do it! People die just going across the street thats just life you have to take chances to reach goals!

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