Nuns Prescribed the Pill to Avoid Cancer
Saturday, 10 December 2011, 18:10 IST
Printer Print Email Email
London: Regardless of their celibacy vows, nuns should take contraceptive pills to cut cancer threat, researchers in Australia have suggested. Like any other women who don't have children, nuns are at an increased risk of dying from certain forms of the disease. But the contraceptive pill can cut the likelihood of developing breast, ovarian and womb cancer, the Daily Mail reported. For this reason, researchers say nuns should take the pill. Kara Britt of Monash University, Melbourne, and Roger Short of Melbourne University, argue that nuns are at increased risk of cancer through their celibate lifestyle and deserve protection. They claim the Roman Catholic Church's own teaching does not prevent the pill being used for health reasons. The pill is believed to offer protection because women taking it do not produce eggs. The process of egg release triggers cell damage and repair that raises the risk of tumour development. Similarly, women who have children cease to produce eggs during pregnancy and often during breastfeeding. Studies show overall death rates are 12 percent lower in women who have used or are using the pill, compared to those who never took it. The risk of developing ovarian and womb cancers falls by 50 to 60 percent in users, with the benefits lasting over two decades and long after women stop taking it.
Source: IANS
siliconindia