The vision of having cancer scares each of us, which is why over the years many myths have grown around this disease. Some of them are so firmly ingrained in consciousness and commonly repeated that they take the form of certainties. Many of us lack basic knowledge on an important topic, which is the prevention and course of cancer. Here are some of the most common myths.
- Once upon a time, people didn’t get cancer – cancers have existed since the dawn of humanity, as evidenced by the papyri of Egyptian medics from before our era, or the records of Hippocrates, in which he distinguished between malignant and benign tumors. The very term for this disease (cancer) comes from ancient times, because the tumors gathered in one place resembled the modern legs of these animals. So it is not a modern disease, but has existed for centuries.
- Cell phone can cause cancer – the rare link between having cancer and having a cell has not been proven. Cancer is caused by gene mutations, and the phone emits harmless waves that do not affect our genes.
- Cancer is an inherited disease – only 5-10% of cancers are affected. Most of them, as much as 90-95%, are not “inherited from parents”, but the effect of changes in the genetic code (e.g. as a result of smoking, polluted environment, lifestyle, aging). A less optimistic fact, based on recent research, is that if no one in your family has ever had cancer, it doesn’t mean you’re “safe.” Cancer can happen to any of us.
- It’s a death sentence – it is not true that every cancer is an incurable disease, on the contrary – in our country, the mortality rate of malignant neoplasms, e.g. breast, lung or stomach, has significantly decreased. In the US, treatment and detection is even more effective. It all depends on whether we take proper care of ourselves and carry out regular examinations. Taking care of your health, blood tests, a healthy lifestyle, regular visits to a gynecologist or urologist are activities that can give us a decisive advantage in the fight against cancer. Remember, the sooner cancer is detected, the better.
- Chemo and radiotherapy poison the body, so they are ineffective – the fact is that the action of chemistry and irradiation is based on the destruction of DNA cells, which is intended to kill cancer cells and at the same time protect against the destruction of non-cancerous cells. Well-planned therapy destroys the tumor, focusing on the areas where it is located and thus sparing healthy organs. Chemotherapy often affects the bone marrow and hair loss, because although the effect of such therapy is effective, it is not without side effects.