Use of Pill over short term may reduce cancer risk

TAKING the contraceptive pill over a short period may reduce a woman’s chances of getting cancer — but taking it for too long may increase the risk, scientists said yesterday.

Women who take the pill can have up to a 12% lower risk of developing the disease, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.

But the same research also showed women who used the pill for more than eight years — a quarter of those in the study — had a significantly higher risk of developing cancer.