Florid Hyperplasia and Breast Cancer Risk

QUESTION: I was recently diagnosed with florid hyperplasia. My doctors recommend that I stay away from any estrogen when I go through menopause. Right now I take a low-dose birth control pill for endometriosis. Is it safe to continue to take this?

ANSWER: "Florid hyperplasia" just means a lot of overactive breast tissue, not cancer. If you were to give it extra stimulation, with extra estrogen (from post-menopausal estrogen therapy), then the concern is that hyperactive growth may lead to abnormal growth with a greater possibility of cancer forming and growing.

Low-dose birth control pills are unlikely to put your estrogen levels above normal — but ask your doctor to be certain, because there are many different types of pills out there. Low-dose birth control pills are not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer; however, they are associated with a lower risk of ovarian cancer. Birth control pills are not usually given to a woman who's had breast cancer herself.

—Marisa Weiss, M.D.