The Internet is not only rich with truthful, accurate information about cancer but also full of some rumors and myths that may or may not be true. For many cancer patients looking for facts about their disease, it may be difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.
Here’s a list of some myths, half-truths, and facts about cancer you may hear or read about and wonder if they are true or false:
Cell phones can cause cancer
Some studies have suggested a link between cell-phone use and certain rare brain tumors, but well-designed population studies have found no consistent association between cell phones and brain cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Although most scientific studies have not found any danger of cancer associated with cell-phone use, no one has enough information to completely dismiss this concern.
There is a cure for cancer
Rumors abound that the medical industry has found a cure for cancer but will not tell the public about it because physicians, drug companies, and others in the industry are making too much money treating patients and selling drugs and other treatments to cancer patients.
There are more than 100 different types of cancer, and so it is unlikely that any one drug or treatment will cure all cancers. Furthermore, doctors, medical scientists, and industry personnel die of cancer at the same rates as everyone else. If there were a cure, they would take it themselves.
There are, of course, drugs and treatments available now that do cure cancers in some people. For example, the cure rate for children with leukemia who receive chemotherapy is close to 80%. Many women with breast cancer are cured by surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy. So, cancer cures are available, but not one cure for all cancers.
Injuries can cause cancer
From the 1800s until the 1920s, some scientists thought injuries caused cancer. However, studies in animals have demonstrated that causing an injury to an animal does not produce cancer. However, some studies have shown that in very rare cases, severe or long-standing injuries can increase an individual’s risk of getting cancer.
For example, people with scars caused by chemical or heat-related burns are at somewhat greater risk of developing skin cancer than people who do not have such burns. Another example is that a caustic burn in the throat resulting from swallowing chemicals my increase the risk of developing cancer of the esophagus. These are rare examples, however, and the vast majority of injuries are not causes of cancer.
Surgery can cause cancer to spread
This is a myth begun many years ago when cancer patients who had surgery often had very advanced cancers. These patients frequently died after a surgeon opened them up to find the cause of their illness and was unable to treat them because the cancers were so advanced.
Modern surgeons use chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to make sure no cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. Today, physicians and surgeons also know how to diagnose cancer early in the disease process and remove tumors without allowing cancer to spread.
Household bug spray can cause cancer
Bug sprays—pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides—can be dangerous products if you don’t follow the precautions printed on the labels regarding breathing them in or allowing direct contact with your body. Many studies have shown that high doses of pesticides have toxic effects on the body, and animal studies have shown that high doses of these chemicals can cause cancer in animals. Therefore, you need to be cautious when using bug sprays around the house.
Pesticides are also widely used in agriculture to keep food crops free of destructive insects and other pests, but the low doses of these chemicals found in foods such as fruits and vegetables are not associated with an increase in the risk of getting cancer. In fact, people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables usually have a lower risk of cancer than those who do not. But agricultural workers exposed to high levels of pesticides may have a higher risk of developing certain cancers. It’s good advice to wash fruits and vegetables before you eat them.
Parents pass cancer genes to their children
When a child develops cancer, parents often feel responsible for passing a genetic susceptibility for cancer to their children. The fact is that genetic forms of childhood cancer are very rare, and for most types of childhood cancers, parents are not responsible for passing a cancer gene to their child or children. In addition, once one child in the family develops cancer, the likelihood of other children in the family developing the same cancer is extremely rare.
Studies have shown that only about 15% of all cancers run in families. However, certain cancers, such as thyroid cancer, eye cancers, and testicular cancers, are known to have a strong family component, but the overall risk of getting a cancer gene from or passing a cancer gene to a first-degree relative (parent, child, or sibling) is only slightly higher among people who have first-degree relatives with cancer than among those who do not.
Grilled meats increase your cancer risk
Grilling meats can cut down on the fat and calories in the meats you eat, but cooking meats on a charcoal grill can produce certain chemicals (called heterocyclic amines) linked to cancer in animals. While these chemicals are known to cause cancer in animals, their effect on cancer risk in humans is not known with certainty. But the reality is that eating too much grilled red meat or chicken and even meat pan-fried at a very high temperature might increase your risk of getting cancer.
Well-done or burnt meat or chicken cooked on a grill appears to be the most risky. The American Cancer Society suggests that you should not eat blackened or burnt parts of meat or chicken cooked on a grill or at very high heat. You can precook meat or chicken in an oven or microwave and then finish it on the grill. You can also eat small portions of grilled meats or chicken or eat them only occasionally to limit your exposure to harmful chemicals.