Depo Provera and Cervical Cancer

The reason I started this campaign with Depo Provera was due to a theory of mine since 1996. After my daughter was born, I received a "new" form of birth control available to the public called...you guessed it...Depo Provera. I was on medical assistance at the time and was 22 years of age (hence the research studies that targeted young, poverty stricken women). That was back in January of 1994, when I received my first injection.
Over the next few months, I had experienced irregular menstruation, nausea, abdominal pain, depression, and headaches. When I went for my second injection at the clinic, I was told by the midwife (no doctors) that those symptoms were common after childbirth, which I will admit, they are. So she gave me my second shot and I was sent home. That was late April 1994.
In June that year, I found myself bleeding non-stop as if my period had started and forgot to end (about 3 weeks straight). One night, I was in so much pain in my stomach region, that I ended up in the emergency room. I was later released and told to see a doctor (guess they meant no midwife) so i scheduled an appointment for a check-up. A month later, I was told that I was pregnant (yep, Depo helped a lot) and that my pap test had came back as abnormal and a biopsy would be needed. I went for the biopsy and it concluded that I did, in fact, have cervical cancer.

My son and I are both fine. We made it through the pregnancy and childbirth great....he was born March 22, 1995.

1 year later, I was working at a local diner talking to a co-worker of mine and found that she too had been diagnosed with cervical cancer and had also taken the Depo Provera shot. She informed me that a few of her friends had the exact same experience. Now I had put it all together back then, but it wasn't until recently when I started research on the internet about it.
I found that most information regarding the research and disadvantages of Depo Provera cannot be found on the Depo official site....which seemed very interesting to me.
Here are a few links for you:

• From Depo Provera.com...click on "important patient information"...this is the link you get
• From Depo Provera.com...click on "new important safety information...i cannot give you this link, because none appears

According to epigee.org, it states this:
"Other side effects include:

• Change in menstruation (may be lighter or heavier; shorter or longer)
• Increase in spotting and breakthrough bleeding
• Weight gain
• Dizziness
• Nervousness
• Change in libido
• Headaches
• Rash or skin discoloration
• Breast tenderness
• Depression
• Increase or decrease in facial and body hair
• Hair loss

Complications
Although they are rare, there are some serious health complications that can occur with the use of Depo-Provera. Users may have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer and cervical cancer, but study results have been conflicting. Other possible complications include jaundice, blood clots, severe allergic reaction and infertility."

To end this post, I will leave you with one thought. If Depo Provera is so safe and effective, why are there so many lawyers that specialize in Depo Provera lawsuits?
Depo Provera attorneys

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff?

i know that there are a lot of bigger concerns when dealing with cancer. there is the pain, the twinges, the not knowing, the nausea, the worrying about death, and the expense, just to name a few. but i would like to discuss the little things. they are the ones that are important to me but are dismissed by others who are not experiencing them.

1. hair loss- i am not and have not gone through chemotherapy. though my hair is in fact falling out and by the clumps. this is due to hormone imbalance (or so i read on the internet in a medical journal). i realize that great hair is just vanity, but it depresses me when i see enough hair in my hair brush to make a wig for a small child.
2. discharge- i am not referring to normal, everyday vaginal discharge. i am talking about the black, foul smelling that reminds you of a squid in a fish market. no matter how much i cleanse, i cannot get rid of this. i feel like the unsexiest person in the world with this even though it is normal. see my post The Squid Complex
   
3. fatigue- i do not work or have children running around the house, so this should not bother me. but then again, if i don't work or have children running around, then why am i so damn tired all of the time? we are eating a healthier diet, much more healthier than before the cancer. again, considered normal, but i just don't feel normal when i walk around like a zombie half of the time.
4. hot flashes- nothing like turning the heat off in 30 degree temperatures and then stripping down because its "hot?". i was a cook in many restaurants and am use to high heat. there is no reason why i am sweating at below freezing temps.

like i said, these are just the small things, but according to number 4, i am sweating the small stuff.