Thursday Thirteen ~ Breast Cancer Myths

While Breast Cancer in of itself is not really very funny…people are. Take a quick moment to catch this hysterical post by Christopher at Death By Children, about trying to convince his teenage daughter to wear a bra. (all of his parent/child stories are a riot)

On a more serious note:

Thirteen Myths About Breast Cancer
(detailed below)

1. Wearing Bras can cause breast cancer
2. Men can't get breast cancer.
3. Deodorants cause breast cancer
4. One in eight women have breast cancer.
5. Worry only if breast cancer is in your family
6. Father's family history doesn't count
7. Pollutants are not linked to breast cancer risk.
8. If you are cancer-free 5 years after a diagnosis, you're cured.
9. Mammograms prevent breast cancer
10. If you have breast cancer, you will need a mastectomy
11. Breast cancer is an emergency
12. If you get breast cancer, you will probably die.
13. Herbal remedies and dietary supplements can help treat breast cancer.


1. Wearing Bras can cause breast cancer
This is a “strike terror in your heart” threat girls tell their fathers so that they do not have to wear one of the most uncomfortable devices known to man.

2. Men can't get breast cancer.
This breast cancer myth is highly believed by many people. Although women develop breast cancer at a higher rate, men can develop breast cancer, too. About 1600 men will develop breast cancer in the US this year.

3. Deodorants cause breast cancer
If you've received that chain e-mail, delete it. There might be confusion because women are told not to wear deodorant when they are having a mammogram because particles in the deodorant might show up on the mammogram and cause confusion when the specialist is evaluating the test.

4. 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.

5. Worry only if breast cancer is in your family
No more than 10 percent is hereditary, so just because it's in your family doesn't mean you're doomed. But family history is relevant. Be sure to give your doctor a complete family history, and if there is breast cancer in your family, get yearly mammograms if you're over 40.

6. Father's family history doesn't count
A diagnosis in your dad's family is just as important as one in your mother's. And on either side, a diagnosis before menopause means the cancer is more likely to be hereditary. After menopause, the possibilities regarding the cause of the cancer expand.

7. 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

8. If you are cancer-free 5 years after a diagnosis, you're 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.

9. Mammograms prevent breast cancer
Mammograms don't prevent cancer, but they are the best diagnostic tool because they alert doctors to changes in your breast. Women should begin having mammograms at 40. But if there's a history of breast cancer in your family, your doctor may recommend starting earlier.

10. If you have breast cancer, you will need a mastectomy
More and more women are electing to have a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy. If the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes, surgeons can get all the cancer cells with a lumpectomy. Some women may have to have radiation as well. The outcome could be as successful as a mastectomy.

11. Breast cancer is an emergency
A diagnosis is frightening, but you shouldn't be paralyzed by fear. The vast majority of women who are diagnosed have plenty of time for a second and third opinion. There are great treatment options with early detection. Women must be proactive; they are consumers as well as patients and have to do their homework about their options. But with early detection when cancer is confined to the breast only, the survival rate is 98 percent.

12. 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.

13. Herbal remedies and dietary supplements can help treat breast cancer.
No herbal remedy, dietary supplement or alternative therapy has been scientifically proven to treat breast cancer. Further, doctors do not know how these alternative medicines may interact with established medicines - if they cause their own side effects or interfere with the traditional therapy's effectiveness.

This information....and so much more can be found at these sites:

American Cancer Society

Breast Cancer Action

ABC News – GMA special report