Hello frances,

I very much hope your cancer treatments are going well.

There has been some speculation recently with an FDA release on August 21, 2008 about cholesterol drugs and increased rates of cancer.  However, the type of drug in question is not the statin you take but a drug called Zetia or ezetimibe.  Zetia, while lowering cholesterol works in a different way than the statin-class of medications.

Statins have many long-term studies that show no difference in rates of cancer in patients taking the drug versus those not taking the drug.

The question whether Zetia increases one's risk for cancer is a very complex one, and probably can not be answered until the data is scrutinized much more closely.  For the time being, the drug is still on the market.

To your health,

Neil MD