http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/GetInformed/Top10Myths.html

Top 10 Breast Cancer Myths Debunked

  1. If your grandmother and/or mother had breast cancer, you will get
it. Having a family history of breast cancer is only one risk factor
for the disease, and having one or more risk factors does not mean that
you will develop the disease. Having a family member with breast cancer
does not mean that you will get the disease, or that you have inherited
a genetic risk of breast cancer. Only 5 to 10 percent of all breast
cancer cases are explained by an inherited genetic mutation. And some
women who have inherited one of the so-called ?breast cancer genes,?
putting them at increased risk of breast cancer, will never go on to
develop the disease.

  2. If you are cancer-free five years after a diagnosis, you are
cured. While five-year survival after some cancers does signify a cure,
it is not the case for breast cancer. The risk of recurrence of breast
cancer is greatest in the first two years after diagnosis, but breast
cancer can and does recur at any time, regardless of how many years
have passed since an initial diagnosis.

  3. Mammograms prevent breast cancer ("Early detection is your best
protection"). Mammograms cannot prevent breast cancer. They can only
detect cancer that already exists. Breast cancer awareness campaigns
urging women to have yearly mammograms are based on the premise that
breast cancer found early can be "cured," but regardless of how
small a tumor is when it is detected, some breast cancers are so
aggressive that they cannot be effectively treated with the therapies
that are currently available. For more about the myth of early
detection...

  4. Antiperspirants cause breast cancer. A rumor circulating on the
Internet reports that "the leading cause of breast cancer is the use
of antiperspirant," claiming that the underarm product inhibits the
body from purging toxins. The e-mail adds that nearly all breast cancer
tumors occur in the upper outside quadrant of the breast area, where
the lymph nodes are located. While that is true, it is also true that
breast cancer occurs more often in the left breast. If antiperspirant
is the cause, why would that be the case? And since the armpit is not
the only place that people perspire, why wouldn't the body excrete
toxins elsewhere? Antiperspirant is way too simple an explanation for a
way too complicated disease.

  5. A high-fat diet is linked to breast cancer. There are plenty of
reasons to avoid a high-fat diet, but breast cancer is not one of them.
Studies have not shown that a high-fat diet increases breast cancer
risk.

  6. One in eight women have breast cancer. This much-quoted statistic
is an individual's cumulative risk over an 85-year lifetime. It does
not mean that at any given point, one of every eight women has breast
cancer. Rather, it means that if all women lived to be 85, one in eight
would develop the disease sometime during her life. The good news is
that seven out of eight people will never get breast cancer. The bad
news is that the rate is quickly rising: thirty years ago, the lifetime
risk was 1 in 20.

  7. Stress causes breast cancer. Studies have failed to find any
evidence that people who tend to be anxious or stressed are any more
likely to develop breast cancer than people who are more relaxed. For
more on personality and breast cancer risk...

  8. Pollutants are not linked to breast cancer risk. Powerful
evidence indicates that there is a connection between chemicals and
breast cancer. While we pursue the research that will lead to even more
definitive answers, we can and should reduce our exposure to substances
that appear to cause cancer. For more on environmental links to breast
cancer read "State of the Evidence: What Is the Connection Between
Chemicals and Breast Cancer?" [PDF]

  9. Positive thinking will prolong your life after breast cancer.
There is no evidence to show that an optimistic attitude in the face of
a breast cancer diagnosis can increase the chances of survival. There
are times when a positive attitude is the only thing that gets you out
of bed in the morning, but it is also perfectly normal and healthy to
feel sadness, anger or fear after a breast cancer diagnosis. Falsely
putting on a happy face can actually increase your sense of isolation
and interfere with your ability to cope.

 10. If you get breast cancer, you will probably die. A breast cancer
diagnosis is not a death sentence. While breast cancer is the second
leading cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer), the vast
majority of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago
are still alive.

Site Info [02.62] 9/15/04
© 2005, Breast Cancer Action