Other questions & answers

Pharmaceutical drugs

Pharmaceutical drugs are chemical substances that are developed and applied in medicine and dentistry due to their ability to treat, prevent, or alleviate disease. The drugs may have side-effects in addition to their intended effects. The side-effects may involve enhancing cancer risk or reducing cancer risk.

Hormone replacement therapy is a specific type of hormonal drug usually prescribed for menopause symptoms in women.

• Should I be concerned to take hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms?

Other pharmaceutical drugs, some of them hormonal drugs, may increase risk of cancer for women only (e.g. oral contraceptives) or women and men:

• May use of oral contraceptives increase my risk of cancer?
• Are there other drugs that may increase my risk of cancer?
• Are there any drugs, such as aspirin, that I can take to reduce my risk of cancer?
• What should I do if I want to take drugs, such as aspirin, to reduce my risk of cancer?