Breast Cancer Facts

Breast Cancer Myths

Courtesy of Health.com

Few things are as terrifying to women as breast cancer: Surveys show it's their number one health worry. However, 80 percent of biopsies are benign, and curing cancer is not the toxic, disfiguring ordeal it once was. Misconceptions about the disease can be frustrating, even dangerous, to those affected. For your own health and safety, learn the truth about these breast cancer scares and statistics.

Myth: Small-breasted women have less chance of getting breast cancer.

Reality: There's no connection between the size of your breasts and your risk of getting breast cancer. Very large breasts may be harder to examine than small breasts, with clinical breast exams-and even mammograms and MRIs-more difficult to conduct. But all women, regardless of breast size, should commit to routine screenings and checkups.


Myth: Only women with a family history of breast cancer are at risk.

Reality: Roughly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors for the disease. But the family-history risks are these: If a first-degree relative (a parent, sibling, or child) has had or has breast cancer, your risk of developing the disease approximately doubles. Having two first-degree relatives with the disease increases your risk even more.


Myth: Wearing an underwire bra increases your risk of getting breast cancer.

Reality: Claims that underwire bras compress the lymphatic system of the breast, causing toxins to accumulate and cause breast cancer, have been widely debunked as unscientific. The consensus is that neither the type of bra you wear nor the tightness of your underwear or other clothing has any connection to breast cancer risk.


Myth: Most breast lumps are cancerous.

Reality: Roughly 80% of lumps in women's breasts are caused by benign (noncancerous) changes, cysts, or other conditions. Doctors encourage women to report any changes at all, however, because catching breast cancer early is so beneficial. Your doctor may recommend a mammogram, ultrasound, or biopsy to determine whether a lump is cancerous.


Myth: Exposing a tumor to air during surgery causes cancer to spread.

Reality: Surgery doesn't cause breast cancer and it doesn't cause breast cancer to spread, as far as scientists can tell from the research so far. Your doctor may find out during surgery that your cancer is more widespread than previously thought, however. And some animal studies have shown that removing the primary tumor sometimes enables metastatic cancers to grow, but only temporarily; this has not been demonstrated in humans.


Myth: Breast implants can raise your cancer risk.

Reality: Women with breast implants are at no greater risk of getting breast cancer, according to research. Standard mammograms don't always work as well on these women, however, so additional X-rays are sometimes needed to more fully examine breast tissue.


Myth: All women have a 1-in-8 chance of getting breast cancer.

Reality: Your risk increases as you get older. A woman's chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer is about 1 in 233 when she's in her 30s and rises to 1 in 8 by the time she's reached 85.


Myth: Wearing antiperspirant increases your risk of getting breast cancer.

Reality: The American Cancer Society pooh-poohs this rumor, but admits that more research is needed. One small study did stumble on traces of parabens in a tiny sample of breast cancer tumors. Parabens, used as preservatives in some antiperspirants, have weak estrogen-like properties, but the study in question made no cause-and-effect connection between parabens and breast cancer, nor did it conclusively identify the source of the parabens found in tumors.


Myth: Breast cancer always comes in the form of a lump.

Reality: A lump may indicate breast cancer (or one of many benign breast conditions), but women should also be on the alert for other kinds of changes that may be signs of cancer. These include swelling; skin irritation or dimpling; breast or nipple pain; nipple retraction (turning inward); redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin; or a discharge other than breast milk. Breast cancer can also spread to underarm lymph nodes and cause swelling there before a tumor in the breast is large enough to be felt. On the other hand, a mammogram may pick up breast cancer that has no outward symptoms at all. Women with a rare type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) rarely have a breast lump. Symptoms of IBC include swelling, redness, itchiness, or warmth in the breast; tenderness or pain; a change in the nipple, such as retraction; skin that appears thick and pitted like an orange peel or with ridges and small bumps; an area of the breast that looks bruised; or swollen lymph nodes under the arm. Doctors encourage women to report any changes that they notice in their breasts.