Is There a Link Between IVF and Cancer? Doctors Say No.
E!'s Guiliana Rancic revealed on Monday that "through [her] attempt to get pregnant for the third time through IVF, [she] found out that [she] has early stages of breast cancer." She is just 36-years-old. She revealed the personal news to Ann Curry of the TODAY show.
It was her fertility specialist that recommended she get a mammogram, and it was through the breast screening that the cancer was discovered. Her doctor told her that he would not begin the cycle of IVF "if possibly there's a small chance that you have cancer because the hormones will accelerate the cancer," according to Rancic.
The news has drawn concern that there was some kind of connection between IVF and breast cancer. Two days later, Dr. Nancy Snyderman of the TODAY show told Curry that there is not a connection. "There's no known cause and effect," she said regarding the hormones used in IVF and birth control pills. "What we do know is that women who are older usually ask for IVF because they're having a harder time getting pregnant—and women who are older have a higher chance of getting breast cancer, so there is an age relation, but not a hormonal relation."
Posted by on 10/21/2011 11:06:33 AM
Most Recent Posts
Previous Posts
