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In her article on the increasing use of contraception to control menstruation (why more and more women give up their menstruation, G2, July 18), Nicola Davis briefly touched on one of the biggest stories of cancer prevention that most people are not aware of.
Many studies published over the last 15 years show that women who have used an oral contraceptive have a risk of ovarian cancer reduced by 30 to 50% compared to those who have never used an oral contraceptive.
The level of protection increases with the duration of use and continues for decades after stopping the oral contraceptive. Similar, slightly lower levels of cancer reduction are observed for uterine cancer. In contrast, the increased risk of breast cancer associated with the use of oral contraceptives is much better known, even though the level of risk is modest and disappears five to ten years after stopping treatment.
While additional efforts can be made to tout the virtues of the pill as a cancer risk-reducing agent, it is likely that many more deaths from ovarian cancer will be prevented.
Dr. Marc Tischkowitz
Reader in medical Genetics, University of Cambridge
• The recent call for offers by the government to provide free time products in schools is a useful answer to the period of poverty. But with the huge amount of plastic products thrown daily in the UK, is not this an ideal opportunity to ensure that an entire generation uses sustainable products? ? Or to reinforce the 2022 No Plastic Schools Program? That's why it's extremely disappointing to see Procter & Gamble, the largest manufacturer of vintage plastic products, on the advisory board. If the government complies with the short-termism of companies in this small region, how fortunate are we to exceed the broader objectives of the climate crisis?
Alec Mills
London
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