Ovarian cancer and talcum powder

[vic003]

Hi ladies,

I have read that using talcum powder in the genital area may cause ovarian cancer. When I was little I used to put powder in my underwear now I'm frightened of the risk. There have been studies done about this but they remain inconclusive about the link to cancer. Anwayz I'm quite anxious about this at the moment. Has anyone else used talcum powder in their genital area? Would you guys worry if you have? I think i'm blowing this into a big thing worrying about something so uncertain!

[Janeeey]

Hi

I have had a real obsession with OC for some time and have read far too much on the subject. I would say the majority of women of a certain generation used talc when they were babies or small girls - I know I did.

One thing I read on the cancer research which I have pasted below helps put into perspective for me. I also think that it is more of a risk if you were using it daily now and had done for years and years .. but even then as stated below OC is in fact quite rare and a small risk .. but I know what you mean though as I constantly worry about it - wish I could take my own advice!!

Hope this helps

Putting the risks into perspective

The ovarian cancer charity Ovacome have produced an excellent factsheet on talc use and ovarian cancer. They make two really important points that put any potential risks from talc into perspective:

• Studies suggest that talc use may increase the risk of ovarian cancer by around a third. This is a relatively small increase in risk and ovarian cancer is a rare disease. Increasing a small risk by a third still gives a small risk.
• There are millions of women in the UK, and many will use talcum powder. But only a very small number will develop ovarian cancer. So even if talc did increase the risk, only very few women who use talc will actually develop ovarian cancer.