Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. While the African –American women with breast cancer experience higher mortality rate, the Caucasians are more commonly diagnosed with the disease. Among Indians also, the disease has a considerable mortality rate.
Given the deadliness of the disease and the rate of progression of its spread, we often come across a lot of myths and misrepresented facts that unduly makes people even more bewildered and anxious. Here we discuss a few most common false beliefs among people about breast cancer.
Following Are Most Common Myths About Breast Cancer:
Wearing Tight Undergarments
Contrary to the common belief, there are no risk factors attached as to the type of bra that a women wears to the possibility that she may develop breast cancer at any point of time in her lifetime. Padded bras or bras with under wire attached put you at no more risk of developing breast cancer than the ones who do not wear them.
Rapid Breast Growth During Pregnancy
Rapid growth of breast cells occurs under the influence of female hormonal changes that affect the growth and development of the breast tissues, makes some people to believe that it puts them at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. However, Getting pregnant at an early age and having multiple pregnancies drastically lowers the risk of developing breast cancer in women. In fact, after the age of 20 years, the earlier a women bears a child, the better.
Any Swelling In The Breast Is Cancer
It is another common belief that any kind of anomaly associated with breast is feared to be a breast cancer nodule. There are other pathological conditions involving the breast tissues like changes in the skin color, discharge from the nipples, nipple inversion etc. which are very common occurrences due to hormonal changes.
Mastectomy Cures Breast Cancer
Mastectomy is the complete removal of one or both the breasts. It is most commonly done as a treatment for an existing breast cancer, other methods include removal of only the cancerous lump from the breast. While it may seem prudent but , mastectomy or lumpectomy both have the same mortality rate and other pros and cons associated with them that vary depending upon the patient’s condition.
Being Female Is A Causative Factor
Most people think that breast cancer only affects women and if you are a female you have to live with this fact that you can develop breast cancer anytime. Breast cancer affects men as well with a substantial mortality rate. Indeed men have less than 1 % chances of developing breast cancer, but the fact is that it does occur in males and can as well, prove to be fatal.
Regular Checkup Can Prevent Risk Of Developing Breast Cancer
While it is very essential to get regular health checkup not only for a possible breast cancer but also for any other kind of hidden pathology that may be silently growing in your body. Regular checkups and biopsy have shown to cause an increased level of anxiety and damage in people without having any substantial benefit of diagnosing the disease at an early stage.
If Your Family Has It So Will You
If your mother, daughter sister or any of your distant blood relations have had an incidence of breast cancer, it does put you at a higher risk of developing the disease. But, that does not mean that you will surely get it. In fact, most women with a family history do not develop breast cancer despite being at a higher risk. Interestingly, most women who do develop breast cancer do not have a family history.
