The pill provides 'lifelong protection against some cancers'

"The pill can protect women from cancer for 30 years," is the front page headline in the Daily Mirror.
The paper reports on a landmark study that followed more than 46,000 women in the UK for up to 44 years.

The study found women who'd used the combined oral contraceptive pill – commonly known as "the pill" – were less likely to get bowel (colorectal) cancer, womb (endometrial) cancer and ovarian cancer many years after they'd stopped taking the medicine.
Although women had a higher risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer while taking the pill, the researchers say this raised risk "appeared to be lost" within about five years of having stopped taking it.
Researchers concluded the overall effect of taking the contraceptive pill was "neutral" when taking into account the balance of higher risks and lower risks. 
But there are a number of uncertainties to consider with this research.
The study began in 1969, only a few years after the pill was first made available in the UK in 1961. Doses of oestrogen and progestogen were higher than many of the pills available now.
And the women in the study used the pill for an average of 3.5 years, which may be different from how women use the pill today.
Because of the type of study, we don't know for certain whether the change in cancer risk is because of the effects of the pill or whether other health or lifestyle factors had an influence.
Still, women who took the pill can be reassured it's unlikely to have had a long-term effect on their cancer risk.