As
women, we have so much pressure put on us about birth control and
reproduction. Somehow, society has made us feel as if it is our
responsibility to “take care of things,” when it comes to having
children. Women are the ones who carry the child for nine months.
Women are also the ones, who must take proper measures to control
whether they get pregnant or not. When we are young, we are taught
about abstinence and waiting until marriage. Once we are married, we
are told to “take the pill” or “protect ourselves” if we wish
to not get pregnant.
At a
young age, there were several people who said that I “needed to get
on the pill.” After having my daughter before I was twenty, the
nurses didn't really feel that it was an option to “fix me,”
since I was still young. I took a trip to Planned Parenthood, and was
informed I should be on the pill until I decided to have more
children. Nobody informed me of the possible health risks, or what it
could do to my body. I was told it was safe, and to take it at the
exact same time each day. As long as I took this pill every day, I
could avoid pregnancy. So like I was told, I took the pill. I took it
every day for 12 years.
There
are repercussions to taking the pill every single day for 12 years.
Just recently, I found out what those were. After having terrible
side and stomach pain, a trip to the emergency room, a CT scan, a
visit with my doctor, ultra-sound and an MRI, I received somewhat
disturbing news. While I am not terribly ill, the news still wasn't
great.
I
had a benign tumor known as a Hepatocellular
adenoma on my liver. A Hepatocellular
adenoma is
a rare tumor that is thought to be caused by the use of oral
contraceptives. In fact, it is so rare, that about 4 out of 100,000
cases are reported annually. While the presence of it being there
isn't life threatening, it could cause some complications if it were
to burst. If the tumor was to rupture, it could cause internal
bleeding. In rare cases, it could become malignant. For now, there is
no treatment for liver adenomas. If they grow larger, it is necessary
to surgically remove them, which sometimes involves a liver
resection.
In
my case, thankfully, my tumor is still small. My gastroentologist
informed me to stop taking birth control pills and to avoid
pregnancy. The tumor must be monitored by ultrasound every six months
to watch for any changes. As for the constant pain in my side, I can
only treat that with Ibprofen. If I have other symptoms that show up,
I must inform my doctor.
I
urge young women to be more upfront with their healthcare-especially
when it comes to their reproductive health. To avoid such a situation
as this, ask about non-hormonal ways to avoid pregnancy. If I would
have had any idea this could happen, I never would have taken the
pill. I don't think it's possible to forget about the tumor on my
liver-especially when I am monitoring it every six months. I don't
like the idea of having a tumor on my liver-even if it is benign.
Just the fact that there's any chance that it could become malignant
scares me....
Read
your prescription and over-the-counter drug labels carefully every
time. You certainly don't want to end up with any type of “rare
tumor,” or medical condition because of your own lack of knowledge.
*(Learn more about this condition at Wikipedia)
