Thursday Thirteen #4

Thirteen Myths About Breast Cancer*
1. Only women get breast cancer. (About 1% of those diagnosed with breast cancer are men.)

2. Only those with a family history of breast cancer are at risk. ( While a person with a family history of breast cancer is at a higher than average risk of developing breast cancer, over 80% of those diagnosed with breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors for the disease.)

3. All breast lumps are cancerous. (80% of breast lumps are caused by non-cancerous changes in the breast.)

4. Small breasted women cannot get breast cancer. (The amount of breast tissue does not affect the risk of developing breast cancer.)

5. If a lump is painful, it is not cancerous. (Up to 10% of breast cancers are associated with pain. Pain is very rarely the only evidence of a breast tumor.)

6. A breast cancer diagnosis means the breast will be lost. (A lumpectomy followed by radiation is commonly used to treat early stage breast cancers.)

7. Underwire bras cause breast cancer. (A book called Dressed to Kill suggested wearing an underwire bra could cause breast cancer. The authors attributed the high rate of breast cancer in North America to the face that most North American women wear bras. They failed to take into account any other genetic, environmental, or social factors that could contribute to the breast cancer risk.

8. Mastectomy insures breast cancer will be eliminated forever. (A mastectomy does not guarantee that breast cancer will not recur. Some will experience recurrence at the site of the scar. There is also the possibility the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes of other parts of the body.)

9. Older patients diagnosed with breast cancer do not need "full" treatment. (The mortality rate among older women with breast cancer is increasing because many older women do not receive full breast cancer treatment at the time of diagnosis. Though breast cancer generally has a slow rate of growth, it can also be an aggressive, fast-moving disease that can metastasize (spread) quickly to other parts of the body.)

10. A mammogram prevents breast cancer. (A mammogram cannot prevent breast cancer; however mammography is an excellent tool to screen for and detect the disease at an early stage.)

11. A mammogram causes breast cancer. (A mammogram is a safe procedure that uses extremely low levels of radiation to create detailed images of the breast.)

12. Mammography always finds breast cancer when it is curable. (Mammography is the most accurate screening tool for breast cancer. While annual screening mammograms will detect the vast majority of breast cancers, some cancers are extremely aggressive and can metastasize (spread) to other areas of the body before they are detected by mammogram.)

13. Mammography is 100% accurate in early breast cancer detection. (It is estimated that mammography detects 85% to 90% of all breast cancers. While the vast majority of abnormalities are detected by mammography, some are simply not detectable. For example, sometimes an irregularity goes undetected because surrounding breast tissue is the same density as the irregular tissue. If a patient has a lump or other change and the mammogram is "negative" (interpreted as not suspicious or cancerous), the patient should still pursue that finding with her physician.)

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*If you would like to read more about breast cancer myths/facts, you can find more here. If you want to read a the story of a survivor who inspires, read Carolynn's story of breast cancer during pregnancy at pinkribbonmiracle.com.