How many des daughters

Anyone who was exposed to DES needs special healthcare, even if they are not having any obvious health problems. DES was commonly prescribed to women who had a history of pregnancy problems such as bleeding, miscarriages, premature births, stillbirths or diabetes. If you think you either took DES while pregnant, or your mother took it while she was pregnant with you, it is important to check your medical records.

Under the Freedom of Information Act , you have the right to see your records from doctors, hospitals and pharmacists. Exposure to DES has increased your risk of developing certain diseases, such as breast cancer especially if you are aged over Exposure to DES has increased your risk of developing certain reproductive and urinary-tract problems, and you should examine your testicles for lumps every month.

DES daughters can experience many changes to their reproductive organs — some harmless, others serious. This includes regular physical examinations for life. It is important to tell any healthcare professional that you have been exposed to DES. If any surgery is recommended on your vagina, cervix, fallopian tubes or uterus, always get a second opinion from a doctor experienced in looking after women who have been exposed to DES. This is because some DES-related changes can be misdiagnosed as other gynaecological conditions.

An increase in vaginal discharge is usually the only symptom and the tissue is otherwise healthy. There is no need for medication or any other treatment. In fact, unnecessary surgery to remove the adenosis might make it difficult for doctors to interpret the findings of future DES examinations.

DES exposure can change the shape of the uterus, usually with no ill effect. DES exposure can alter the shape of the cervix the neck of the uterus. To a doctor unfamiliar with DES-related gynaecological changes, these changes can look a lot like cervical polyps, which are common and harmless growths.

This misdiagnosis can lead to unnecessary surgery. Dysplasia, or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia CIN , is a change in the cells of the cervix or vagina. DES-exposed women have a higher risk of developing cell changes. Sometimes, vaginal adenosis can be misdiagnosed as CIN. It was later used for women who were diabetic or had suffered a miscarriage, had blood incompatibility or had other pregnancy complications.

DES was found to be a teratogen and carcinogen, which caused serious birth defects when taken in the first trimester of pregnancy during the formation of the fetal genitalia. Both genders frequently showed unusual genital tract changes and structural variations. While the majority did not develop cancer, there was an increased risk of cervical cancer increased among the girls , Some DES sons, as the boys were known, experienced hypospadias, low sperm count and later infertility.

However, early data on DES sons was much more limited. DES daughters had more pronounced structural variations in the genital tracts. Commonly found issues included:. Case Study 1. The cockscomb, collar, and pseudopolyp of the cervix. Cockscomb hoods are markedly enlarged folds of cervical stroma and epithelium. Low, broad folds are collars rims. A pseudopolyp is that portion of the cervix which is medial to a constricting band sulcus and has on a superficial examination of the appearance of a polyp.

However, the pseudopolyp is not a true polyp since the endocervical canal transverses through it. Credit The National Cancer Institute. The highest risk was seen when the cancer had been diagnosed in adolescents or young adults.

For those with a diagnosis between ages 10 and 34, the odds of death were fold higher compared to the general female population in the same age ranges. The tumor is normally rare in younger women. Roughly 5 million to 10 million fetuses worldwide were exposed to DES between and , when doctors tried to use the drug to prevent miscarriage and premature delivery, according to the U.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bit. The county medical society or health department may be able to tell you where the records are, if they still exist. A few pharmacies keep prescription records for a long time, but many chain drugstores only keep them up to10 years. If you know where the prescription was filled, you might want to ask there.

If you are able to get records, it may help to know that DES was sold under many different names. Two of the most commonly used names were stilbestrol and DESPlex, but there are dozens more. Write down and save anything you find out about dates the drug was taken, and other details. In many cases, it may not be possible to find out if DES was used. And there are no medical tests that can tell you if you were exposed to DES. Women who took DES appear to have an increased risk of breast cancer.

Of course, many other factors affect breast cancer risk as well. A woman who took DES while pregnant or suspects she may have been given it should tell her doctor. If possible, she should try to find out the dose, when the medicine was started, and how it was used. She also should tell her children who were exposed in the womb.

They need to tell their doctors, so that this information can be included in their medical records. DES-exposed mothers should follow a regular schedule for early breast cancer detection, as is recommended for all women. Women should report any new breast lumps or other breast changes to a doctor right away.

They should also have regular medical check-ups. This cancer of the vagina and cervix usually occurs in DES-exposed daughters in their late teens or early 20s.

But it has been reported as early as age 8, and the upper age limit, if any, is not known. DES-exposed daughters are now older than 40, but their risk may still be higher than in women who were not exposed.

Treatment for CCA depends on the location and stage extent of the cancer. For more information on the treatment of clear cell adenocarcinoma, see Vaginal Cancer or Cervical Cancer.

DES exposure before birth has been linked to a higher risk of having abnormal cells in the cervix and vagina. These abnormal cells look like cancer cells. But they do not spread into nearby healthy tissues like cancer cells do and so are often called pre-cancers. DES-exposed daughters may have a vagina, uterus, or cervix with an unusual shape or form structure.