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Home
page > Articles > Breast
Cancer Myths
Breast Cancer
Myths
from National
Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.
MYTH: Finding
a lump in your breast means you have
breast cancer.
TRUTH: Eight out of ten lumps are benign, or not cancerous. If you discover
a persistent lump in your breast or any changes in breast tissue, it is very
important that you immediately see a physician. Many times fear keeps women from
aggressive health care. Sometimes women stay away from medical care because they
fear what they might find. Take charge of your own health by monthly self-exams,
regular visits to the doctor, and regularly scheduled mammograms.
MYTH: Men do not get breast cancer.
TRUTH: This year 185,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer
and 43,500 will die; however, 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast
cancer and 400 will die. While the percentage of men who are diagnosed
with breast cancer is small, men should also give themselves monthly
exams and note changes to their physicians.
MYTH: A mammogram can cause breast cancer to spread.
TRUTH: An x-ray of the breast is called a mammogram. The x-ray
and the pressure on the breast from the
x-ray machine cannot cause cancer to spread. Do not let tales of other people's
experiences keep you from having a mammogram. Base your decision on your physician's
recommendation and ask the physician any questions you may have about the mammogram.
MYTH: Having a family history of breast cancer places you in a
higher risk group for breast cancer.
TRUTH: Most women who have breast cancer have no family history.
If you have a mother, daughter, sister, or grandmother who had breast
cancer, you should have a mammogram five years before the age of their
diagnosis. Women who have a family history of breast cancer are higher
risk.
MYTH: Breast cancer is a communicable disease.
TRUTH: You cannot catch breast cancer or transfer it to someone
else's body. Breast cancer is the result of uncontrolled cell growth
in your own body.
MYTH: Knowing you have changes in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene means
you can prevent breast cancer.
TRUTH: Five percent to ten percent of women who have breast cancer
are thought to carry the mutant BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. Alterations in these
genes for men and women can predispose them to breast cancer. If you
are a carrier of the genes, you should be monitored closely by your physician.
Carriers of the genes have a lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
MYTH: A mammogram is a cure for breast cancer.
TRUTH: A mammogram is a diagnostic tool used to find breast cancer,
not a treatment. A mammogram is a simple procedure that can reveal small
breast cancers up to two years before they can be detected by touch.
MYTH: One mammogram is all you ever need.
TRUTH: Every woman should have a baseline mammogram between the
ages of 35-40, a mammogram every other year until age 50, and one every
year after the age of 50. Early detection is the key to survival. The
earlier breast cancer is detected, the more options a woman has for effective
treatment and survival.
MYTH: A mammogram is not effective in detecting breast cancer
in dense breast tissue.
TRUTH: While more difficult to interpret in younger women because
of denser breast tissue, breast cancer can be detected with mammograms.
If a younger woman is having unusual symptoms, she should see a physician
immediately. She may need to have a mammogram at a younger age than 35,
depending upon her physical condition and the recommendation of a reliable
physician.
MYTH: Breast size affects the risk of breast cancer.
TRUTH: Whether large or small, the size of a woman's breasts
does not place her at a higher risk. Exercise and weight loss
will affect the size of the woman's breasts. Eating a low-fat,
healthy diet reduces the risk of breast cancer. Studies have
shown that exercise greatly reduces breast cancer risk.
MYTH: Women under the age of 50 do not benefit from mammograms.
TRUTH: More than twenty percent of breast cancers are
diagnosed in women under the age of 50. At present, one woman
in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
While women over the age of 50 are at a higher risk, younger
women should be cautious about observing changes in their breasts
and unexplained lumps.
MYTH: Women with known risk factors are the only ones
who get breast cancer.
TRUTH: Being a woman is the greatest risk. Age increases
risk. Seventy percent of women with breast cancer have no known
risk factors. A cure for breast cancer has not yet been discovered,
so early detection is the best protection a woman can have. Educate
yourself about breast cancer so that you recognize early symptoms.
MYTH: All races have equal death rates from breast cancer.
TRUTH: The leading cause of death for African-American
women, ages 30-54, is breast cancer. African-American women die
at twice the rate of white women. Breast cancer knows no boundaries
of races for attacking women with the disease.
MYTH: Breast feeding causes breast cancer.
TRUTH: A woman who breast feeds can get breast cancer,
but no studies indicate that breast feeding causes breast cancer.
In fact, some studies indicate that breast feeding can reduce
the risk of breast cancer in women.
MYTH: Self-examination is all that is needed to detect
breast cancer.
TRUTH: A three-part plan of protection is vital to good
breast care: monthly self-exams, annual visits to the doctor,
and regularly scheduled mammograms. It is the responsibility
of women to take charge of their own health care by planning
for good health.
Sources:
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