Cancer: Nine False Myths About Disease

Information is essential in cancer prevention, and hence the importance of removing the mistaken beliefs about the disease.

Neither the stress nor the components of the deodorants are behind the diagnoses of cancer nor the having a pessimistic personality makes us more vulnerable to suffer a disease that generates doubts and, some of them, end up becoming myths. And among the key myths to banish, cancer is not always synonymous with mortality. These are the 9 myths dismantled by science.

1. Cancer is hereditary

It is one of the most widespread cancer beliefs. Although there may be a genetic predisposition in some types of tumors – about 5-10% of the diagnosed cases – it cannot be generalized and considered that the cancer is a hereditary disease.

2. Cancer is contagious

Not at all. No cancer is contagious. It does occur that some types of cancer can be caused by viruses that spread from one person to another, such as human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease that can increase the risk of cervical cancer, For example, or hepatitis B and C viruses, which increase the risk of liver cancer.

3. Pain is a symptom of cancer

Pain is not a sign or symptom of cancer. In fact, in the initial phases, there is no presence of pain. Another thing is different throughout the process of the disease. In these cases, up to 75% of patients recognize pain. Within the treatment of cancer, and precisely to appease the pain, radiation therapy is applied to the more advanced tumors.

4. Cancer is synonymous with death

Oncology specialists, with the support of therapies and new advances in the treatment of cancer, are able to dismantle the myth that the diagnosis of cancer is synonymous with mortality. Quite the opposite. You can win the battle against cancer. According to medical data, more than half of the patients overcome this disease and, to date, there are numerous therapies to prolong survival and to face cancer.

5. Stress causes cancer

It is true that stress can condition our quality of life and our health, but science has dismantled that is responsible for the onset of cancer. But even if stress is not a direct cause or condition, we must pay attention to it, because stress can unbalance our diet and our healthy habits, and that is a risk factor for our health.

6. Sugar causes cancer

There is no conclusive scientific evidence that sugar intake favors the growth of cancer. Body cells, healthy and cancerous, depend on sugar (glucose) to grow and function. But this does not mean that it accelerates its growth nor that to stop taking sugar slows down it. Nor does it mean that we can abuse sugar in the diet because the excess calories that it implies are associated with weight gain, obesity and diabetes. Bad habits and bad eating, as different studies have shown, can deplete our health and make us more vulnerable to cancer.

7. Deodorants are carcinogens

The aluminum salts present in the antiperspirants (deodorants do not carry) have also generated the mistaken belief of considering these cosmetics as a risk factor for cancer. However, today there are no rigorous studies or scientific evidence to determine the relationship between the aluminum-based antiperspirants and this disease.

8. It is bad to wear bras with hoops

A feminine garment that has also been in the spotlight, the use of certain types of bras (with hoops). Neither is there any link with the greater or lesser predisposition to suffer from cancer and, in particular, breast cancer.

9. Medicinal herbs

What about medicinal herbs? Oncologists assert that there are no medicinal herbs with the curative ability of cancer. If a natural or complementary therapy is followed, the patients should report it to the doctor, as it could interact with the treatment or therapy being carried out.