An American Cancer Society survey finds up to half of Americans
mistakenly believe surgery can spread cancer, and more than one in four
thinks a cure for cancer already exists but is being held back by a
profit-driven industry.

Results of the survey are published in the August 1, 2005 issue of
CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The
authors say it shows the American public is significantly ill-informed
about cancer, and that most overestimate how much they know.

The medical management of cancer and cancer-related complications, such
as pain, has significantly improved over the last three decades, as have
survival rates for leading cancers. Still, studies indicate that a
patient's own cultural beliefs and understanding of cancer may influence
health behavior, such as whether patients get regular screenings and
undergo treatment.

Led by Ted Gansler, M.D., M.B.A of the American Cancer Society,
researchers conducted a national telephone survey of 957 adults with no
history of cancer to assess Americans' understanding of the disease and
its management, and identify any demographic characteristics associated
with misconceptions.

Participants were asked if five misconceptions were true or false.
The authors found only one in four (25 percent) of participants
correctly identified all five misconceptions as false. Four in ten (41
percent) of the respondents believed that surgical treatment actually
spread cancer in the body and 13 percent said they were unsure whether
this was true. Twenty-seven percent believed that there is a cure for
cancer available being withheld by the healthcare industry and an
additional 14 percent were uncertain. Nineteen percent believed that
pain medications were ineffective in treating cancer pain with another
13 percent saying they did not know. Nine in ten (89 percent) correctly
disagreed with the statement that "all you need to beat cancer is a
positive attitude," but more than one in ten (11 percent) either thought
is was true or did not know. A similar percentage (87 percent) correctly
disagreed that "cancer is something that cannot be effectively treated,"
but again, about one in eight (13 percent) either agreed or did not
know.

People who were over 65 years, of non-White race, residents of the
South, or self-identified as without much or any understanding of cancer
were likely to hold more misconceptions. The survey found little
relation between people's self-assessment of cancer knowledge and the
accuracy of their answers. For four of the five questions, there was no
significant difference in prevalence of endorsement of the inaccuracies
between the groups who called themselves "very informed," "somewhat
informed," or "not very informed." However, those who called themselves
"not at all informed" were generally quite accurate when rating their
own health literacy.

"These results indicate that public and patient education interventions
are most urgently needed in cancer centers, medical practices, and other
community organizations that serve large numbers of patients with these
'at risk' demographic characteristics," conclude the authors.
 

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional    
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
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