"I used to think breast cancer was simply a death sentence and that anyone who had it should be avoided, and not just them but their family as well. In fact I had thought that the reason they had the cancer was because they were careless and their breasts were simply suffering from the consequences of their actions Or what could the breast have done even to deserve such a disease. Soft and succulent, standing pillars, a common centre of attraction now become a sight of pain, avoidance and even a cause of death. I don’t think this way anymore, I have gotten a better knowledge of breast cancer and I am now an advocate for early detection".. Anonymous
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Hi there, how well do you know about breast cancer and will you say that you knew better than this person above? Few people may still hold on to several myths about the disease but these are only lies when we take a closer look at them. There are so many of them but for the scope of this post we are going to state a few and debunk some myths.
But first, what is breast Cancer, to the average person out there I would define breast cancer as an abnormal growth found within the breast which has tendencies to spread to other parts of the body. Not all abnormal growths in the breast are breast cancers, but all abnormal growths should be checked to be sure it is not breast cancer.
Some risk factors that may cause breast cancer include family history, Age over 40, previous breast cancer or any other cancer, radiation exposure, the risk is also said to be higher in Jewish, African American and Hispanic women, and women with dense breasts.
All the above-listed factors are known as non-modifiable risk factors because nothing can be done to change them, meanwhile, there are also those risk factors that something can be done about them, Obesity, sedentary life, alcohol intake, hormone replacement therapy and Women who had no children or first pregnancy after 30, this one is quite interesting though. Perhaps a good reason for the ladies to marry early.
Breastfeeding has been known to reduce the risk for breast cancer and this should probably be discussed in another post. Its role is however specific to postnatal breastfeeding, that is, sucking by babies, and not by adults/husbands.
Keeping a healthy weight is also very helpful as well as a healthy exercise and balanced diet. The most helpful factor however is to do regular screenings and this could either be self or clinical breast examination or a mammogram for those above 40 years of age.
Now lets try to debunk a few myths from the heads of most people.
Myth 1
Breast Cancer only affects people above the age of 40 years
Now as you all probably have found out from the above information, it is a myth. People of different ages are also predisposed to it and they may not even be up to 40 years.
Myth 2
Use of Deodorants can cause Breast Cancer
There is still no scientific proof of this as of today, so we can't say this is true, for the known risk factor check those listed above.
Myth 3
Men don’t come down with Breast Cancer
This is not true, about 1% of breast Cancer is still attributable to be seen in men.
Myth 4
If you have a family history, then you will definitely have it.
Well this is not true, the percentage of people with a family history who also had breast cancer varies from number of relatives affect and how closely related they are, for 3 or more first degree relative, the rate is 40 to50%. The genetics also vary, for BRCA it is higher above 60%.
Myth 5
Mammograms Cause Cancer
This myth used to be true, with the older kinds of mammograms, exposing the breast tissue to radiations from them could predispose to Cancer, but with the modern mammograms, there is a greatly lowered radiation leading to no risk. So please consult your Doctors to be sure which is the case before doing a Mammogram.
Myth 6
Breast Cancer is a Death Sentence
The answer to this is a BIG NO. Early detection is very important, in fact, early detection of the mutated BRCA genes has led to many people having to choose removing their breast even before the breast cancer are seen.
These myths may have sounded funny, but they are serious and so many people may need this knowledge. I hope you also found them useful to speak to someone out there about breast cancer when you can. Till we meet again on this column, please stay healthy and away from diseases.
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Dr John Ogbuehi (@jaydr) is a Medical Doctor, He loves writing to create health awareness. He also loves to make his voice heard in anything that concerns humanity.