Article: Heather Parker from SHAPE
Image: myths

So it’s a big welcome to the Breast Health Foundation, a section 21 Company, launched in South Africa by health professionals and supported by Avon, to raise funds for breast cancer education. Funds will go towards educating women countrywide about all aspects of breast health, including self-examination and that through early medical attention, a malignant breast can be saved. False beliefs about breast (and other forms of) cancer can cause a great deal of unnecessary worry – or stop you taking vital action.

Myths like:

1. Only women get breast cancer
Men get it too, although in much smaller numbers than women do. Men are most at risk if they have a family history of it, and when they’re over the age of 60.

2. Your father's history doesn't count with breast cancer
A history on either side of the family increases your risk of having “the breast cancer gene”.

3. Stress causes cancer
It turns out one in three of us thinks there’s a causal connection between emotional trauma (like divorce) and cancer.

Not true: the link between stress and cancer is more about personality type. So if you’re inclined to stress out over years, your health will be affected and your immune system depleted, with a possible link to cancer. But stress is more likely to cause other lifestyle diseases; and cancer is more often caused by genes, environmental and lifestyle factors.

4. The pill causes breast cancer 5. Microwave ovens cause breast cancer
The electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted from microwaves have been a source of scares in the past; and a Swiss study in 1992 found microwave-cooked food had some cancer-type effects on blood. But further tests haven’t confirmed any of this – and the EMFs from microwaves are tightly controlled at low levels.

6. Living in a city gives you cancer
There’s no difference in incidence. However, access to good medical care seems to ensure a better survival rate. Partly, this is because easier access seems to lead to earlier diagnosis, which is one of the best indicators of survival.