ovaries
yes, I'm on a roll today. but this one isn't a rant, it's an informative post. also with TMI about *my* ovaries. proceed with caution.
another thing brought up at the la leche meeting was about ovarian cancer. I've heard before that birth control increases your risk for breast cancer, but decreases your risk for ovarian cancer. this is for the same reason pregnancy and breastfeeding decrease your risk for ovarian cancer. apparently it's BAD to ovulate regularly. people at highest risk for ovarian cancer are those who are ovulating willy nilly, so stop it already!
now I get to chalk this up as another form of cancer I have probalby no risk for. I can count on 3 hands the number of times I've ovulated since I got married almost 8 years ago, but as I almost started to worry about the time before that, when I wasn't constantly pregnant and/or breastfeeding, I remember, oh wait, I never ovulated willy nilly. 28-day cycles were a total myth for me. even before I knew how to chart for ovulation, I would keep track of things like how many periods I'd have in a year (sometimes as few as 5) which with my current knowledge means I only ovulated 5 times that year. or 9, another year. never, ever 13, which is what you'd get with a 28-day cycle. so why do people obsess about not having 28-day cycles? longer ones reduce your risk for ovarian cancer!
another thing brought up at the la leche meeting was about ovarian cancer. I've heard before that birth control increases your risk for breast cancer, but decreases your risk for ovarian cancer. this is for the same reason pregnancy and breastfeeding decrease your risk for ovarian cancer. apparently it's BAD to ovulate regularly. people at highest risk for ovarian cancer are those who are ovulating willy nilly, so stop it already!
now I get to chalk this up as another form of cancer I have probalby no risk for. I can count on 3 hands the number of times I've ovulated since I got married almost 8 years ago, but as I almost started to worry about the time before that, when I wasn't constantly pregnant and/or breastfeeding, I remember, oh wait, I never ovulated willy nilly. 28-day cycles were a total myth for me. even before I knew how to chart for ovulation, I would keep track of things like how many periods I'd have in a year (sometimes as few as 5) which with my current knowledge means I only ovulated 5 times that year. or 9, another year. never, ever 13, which is what you'd get with a 28-day cycle. so why do people obsess about not having 28-day cycles? longer ones reduce your risk for ovarian cancer!