Common Myths about Breast Cancer

An enormous amount of data about breast cancer can be obtained on the Internet and other sources. Nonetheless, some are not precise and are even confusing. Right here are some of the common myths about breast cancer.

Using underwire bras boosts your risk to breast cancer.

The myth claims that underwire bras place you more vulnerable to the disease. This is said to be because these kinds of bras block the drainage of the lymph fluid from under this part that it cannot flow to your body. However, there is no scientific explanation to this; thus, it remains as rumor.

Only women are susceptible to breast cancer.

This isn't true; men may also experience the disease. Women, however, are more vulnerable to breast cancer. Almost 23,000 women and 2,100 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. One element that makes women more at risk to the illness is because their breast cells are at risk from the growth-stimulating impacts of estrogen and progesterone (female hormones).

Mammograms lower your risk or stop you from having the disease.

Mammograms are used to identify breast cancer that may already exist; thus, it helps lower death rates among patients with breast cancer. Most cancers have been in existence for six to eight years at the time they are seen on mammograms. This is why it is strongly recommended that women undergo annual breast exam and check their bodies to see likely changes at the earliest possible time.

Only lumps suggest breast cancer.

Lumps are not the only warning sign for breast cancer. It can also be the swelling, warmness, soreness or blackening of the breast, as well as the change in the shape or size of this certain part of the body. If you feel itchy on the nipple or observe scaly sore or rash and/or discharge on it, you may have to talk to a doctor because these are also indications of breast cancer.

Breast cancer can be averted.

You may be able to work on some factors such as inactivity and obesity to reduce your risk to breast cancer but you cannot avoid it because details are not sufficient about the reasons for the disease for you to be able to fully stop it. You may go for early detection and screening to be able to have early diagnosis to improve chances of survival.

If you are identified as having breast cancer, it means you are going to die.

Breast cancer does not work as death sentence. With the developments in detecting and curing breast cancer, the survival rates have increased. Truth is that over 60 percent of people diagnosed with this disease have survived five years or longer after detection.

So how will you know if the details are fact or myth? To keep you from believing in myths or the so-called “old-wives tales”, you have to check the credibility of your sources. You may also ask your medical professional, nurse and other healthcare professionals to confirm the correctness of the info you read or heard.