Breast cancer only affects older women.
No.
While it's true that the risk of breast cancer increases
as we grow older, breast cancer can occur at any age. From birth
to age 39, one woman in 231 will get breast cancer (<0.5% risk);
from age 40-59, the chance is one in 25 (4% risk); from age 60-79,
the chance is one in 15 (nearly 7%). Assuming you live to age
90, the chance of getting breast cancer over the course of an
entire lifetime is one in 7, with an overall lifetime risk of
14.3%.
If you have a risk factor for breast cancer, you're
likely to get the disease.
No.
Getting breast cancer is not a certainty, even if you
have one of the stronger risk factors, like a breast cancer gene
abnormality. Of women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 inherited genetic
abnormality, 40-80% will develop breast cancer over their lifetime;
20-60% won't. All other risk factors are associated with a much
lower probability of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
If breast cancer doesn't run in your family, you won't
get it.
No.
Every woman has some risk of breast cancer. About 80%
of women who get breast cancer have no known family history of
the disease. Increasing age - just the wear and tear of living
- is the biggest single risk factor for breast cancer. For those
women who do have a family history of breast cancer, your risk
may be elevated a little, a lot, or not at all. If you are concerned,
discuss your family history with your physician or a genetic counselor.
You may be worrying needlessly .
Only your mother's family history of breast cancer can
affect your risk.
No
A history of breast cancer in your mother's OR your father's
family will influence your risk equally. That's because half of
your genes come from your mother, half from your father. But a
man with a breast cancer gene abnormality is less likely to develop
breast cancer than a woman with a similar gene. So, if you want
to learn more about your father's family history, you have to
look mainly at the women on your father's side, not just the men.
Using antiperspirants causes breast cancer.
No
There is no evidence that the active ingredient in antiperspirants,
or reducing perspiration from the underarm area, influences breast
cancer risk. The supposed link between breast cancer and antiperspirants
is based on misinformation about anatomy and a misunderstanding
of breast cancer.
Birth control pills cause breast cancer.
No.
Modern day birth control pills contain a low dose of
the hormones estrogen and progesterone. They have not been associated
with an increased risk of breast cancer. The higher-dose contraceptive
pills used in the past were associated with a small increased
risk, in only a few studies. Today's birth control pills can provide
some protection against ovarian cancer.
Eating high-fat foods causes breast cancer.
No
Several large studies have not been able to demonstrate
a clear connection between eating high-fat foods and a higher
risk of breast cancer. Ongoing studies are attempting to clarify
this issue further. We can say that avoidance of high-fat foods
is a healthy choice for other reasons: to lower the "bad" cholesterol
(low-density lipoproteins), increase the "good" cholesterol (high-density
lipoproteins); to make more room your diet for healthier foods,
and to help you control your weight. Excess body weight, IS a
risk factor for breast cancer, because the extra fat increases
the production of estrogen outside the ovaries and adds to the
overall level of estrogen in the body. If you are already overweight,
or have a tendency to gain weight easily, avoiding high-fat foods
is a good idea.
A monthly breast self-exam is the best way to diagnose
breast cancer.
No.
High quality, film-screen mammography is the most reliable
way to find breast cancer as early as possible, when it is most
curable. By the time a breast cancer can be felt, it is usually
bigger than the average size of a cancer first found on mammography.
Breast examination by you or your healthcare provider is still
very important. About 25% of breast cancers are found only on
breast examination (not on the mammogram), about 35% are found
on mammography alone, and 40% are found by both physical exam
and mammography. Keep both bases covered.
I'm at high risk for breast cancer and there's nothing
I can do about it.
No.
There are several effective ways to reduce—but not eliminate—the
risk of breast cancer in women at high risk. Options include lifestyle
changes (minimize alcohol consumption, stop smoking, exercise
regularly), medication (tamoxifen, also called Nolvadex); and
in cases of very high risk, surgery may be offered (prophylactic
mastectomies, and for some women, prophylactic ovary removal).
Be sure that you have consulted with a physician or genetic counselor
before you make assumptions about your level of risk.
A breast cancer
diagnosis is an automatic death sentence
No.
Fully 80% of women
diagnosed with breast cancer have no signs of metastases (no
cancer has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes).
Furthermore, 80% of these women live at least five years, most
longer, and many live much longer. Even women with signs of
cancer metastases can live a long time. Plus promising treatment
breakthroughs are becoming available each
