People may be unable to distinguish between myth and fact when it comes to breast cancer, such as who gets it and why or what treatments entail, unless they have this disease in their own lives or are close to someone who does. Although breast cancer is one of the most well-known and frequently discussed malignancies, there are still a lot of myths floating around.
Hence it is crucial to filter the actual facts from the sets of fiction out there. Here we are busting some of the most bought-into myths, based on breast cancer research studies by experts from different nations and institutions. This piece of information is sure to make folks aware of this life-changing disease. Read below to know more.
MYTH: I won’t have breast cancer if my family has never had it.
FACT: The majority of breast cancer patients have no known family history.
Breast cancer is frequently believed to be an inherited condition. However, only between 5 and 10 per cent of breast cancers are thought to be hereditary, meaning they result from aberrant alterations (or mutations) in certain genes that are passed down from one generation to the next.
The vast majority of women who get breast cancer do not have a family history, indicating that other factors, such as environment and lifestyle, must be at play.
MYTH: Breast cancer can be brought on by bra use.
FACT: The link between bras and breast cancer is unproven.
The internet and media coverage have casually nestled the idea into everyone’s mind that wearing a bra increases the risk of developing breast cancer.
According to the notion, wearing a bra, particularly one with an underwire, could prevent lymph fluid from leaving the breast, which would lead to a buildup of poisonous compounds there.
However, there is no proof to back up this assertion. A 2014 study including 1,500 breast cancer survivors revealed no relation between wearing a bra and the disease.
MYTH: You can always feel a lump when you have breast cancer.
FACT: In particular, when it first appears, breast cancer may not produce a lump.
Sometimes people believe that breast cancer invariably results in a lump that can be felt when performing a self-exam. They may argue that they won’t need a mammogram because they can feel any changes that might be problematic.
However, a lump is not usually the result of breast cancer. By the time it does, cancer may have spread to the lymph nodes and away from the breast. Although completing breast self-exams is undoubtedly a good practice, mammography screenings should still be done on a regular basis.
MYTH: Only women in their middle years and older develop breast cancer.
FACT: Breast cancer can and does strike younger women as well as men.
It is true that the two main risk factors for getting breast cancer are gender and advancing age. Invasive breast cancers affected roughly 4% of women under the age of 40 in 2017, 23% of women in their 50s, and 27% of women between the ages of 60 and 69. A 4% may seem insignificant, yet it is not zero: According to this ratio, invasive breast cancer affected 1 in every 25 women under the age of 40.
The Bottom Line
Although a healthy lifestyle may to some extent, lower the incidence of breast cancer, awareness is the key. The likelihood of surviving breast cancer increases with the earlier it is discovered by a specialist.
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