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There is as yet no conclusive evidence that the Pill causes cancer, although it may eventually be shown to do so—just as cigarette smoking was prevalent for 50 years before its link to lung cancer was established. Researchers are testing the Pill's hormones on animals which are expected to provide answers much sooner than they could be derived from studying human patients. This research prompted Dr. Roy Hertz of Rockefeller University to comment: "The ultimate outcome of this race between dogs, monkeys and women can be anticipated by informed observers only with the greatest apprehension." Harvard's Dr. Robert W. Kistner, the only pro-Pill witness called, testified that the supposedly "precancerous" cervical cell changes detected in women on the Pill are the same as those occurring spontaneously in women who are pregnant —and even in newborn babies. But Kistner also declared that in endometriosis (a painful overgrowth of the lining of the womb), one of the two hormones in the Pill "may have marked protective effects" against the development of cancer.
Clots and Cramps. Although the hearing droned on for two days, with further testimony scheduled for two more weeks, there was little chance that any new medical evidence on the safety of the Pill would be presented.* For example, the Pill's opponents claimed that its annual toll among British users is 30 deaths per million. Even if this figure is confirmed for Britain and the U.S.—which has not yet happened —there will be no way of knowing how many of those women would have died from complications of pregnancy, childbirth or illegal abortion if they had not taken the Pill. And although medical scientists still have much to learn about the effects of the Pill in its various forms, some facts now seem clear.
Because the Pill consists of two powerful hormones, it is likely to have more side effects than most other drugs. The immediate effects of which women complain most frequently are weight gain, breast tenderness and changes in sex drive (both increase and decrease). These symptoms usually subside within three months. Far more significant is what the Pill can do to the blood-clotting mechanism. Its use can cause clot formation in a leg vein (thrombophlebitis or phlebothrombosis), signaled by painful cramps. This condition may be temporarily incapacitating but is not immediately dangerous. A far greater hazard is that such a clot may be dislodged, then travel through the right side of the heart to the lungs and cause pulmonary embolism—a frequently fatal condition. Equally dangerous is obstruction of one of the brain's arteries by a clot—the commonest form of stroke, with a high risk of incapacity or death.