We live in the information age. What we want can be acquired through a click of few keyboard strokes or taps on our smartphones. Till date, people consider cancer as a death sentence, which is certainly not true. But most of these considerations and fear comes from the myths which have been circulating around us about cancer. Not anymore. The expert team of oncologists in the best cancer unit of your region, Capitol Hospital will help you guide through some of the misconceptionsabout cancer and the facts related to the same.
MYTH: Cancer is a death sentence.
FACT: ‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing’, is an adage aptly true here. About one-third of the cancers if caught early can be cured. That is why regular screening and health checkups are required, says the experts at Capitol. During the last few decades, we have made advancement in every aspect of cancer-its prevention, screening, and even the treatment. In today’s era, Cancer is no longer a death sentence. Manisha Koirala, Yuvraj Singh, Anurag Basu all are living proof of this.
MYTH: Deodorants can cause cancer.
FACT: An email making this claim went viral and media gave hype to that rumor. After this, many experiments have been conducted to explore the relationship between cancer and the usage of deodorants. NCI (National Cancer Institute) published a study on the same in 2002 and no conclusive evidence was found to support this claim.
MYTH: Cancer is contagious.
FACT: Putting it simply, Cancer is not contagious. Spending time with your near and dear ones with cancer will only help their good spirits, not spoil your health. Although cancer doesn’t spread from one person to another, some viruses may increase your risk of getting cancer. For instance, Hepatitis B or C spreads through sexual intercourse or HIV from infected needles; both increase your risk of getting cancer.
MYTH: You will get cancerif you have a family history of the disease.
FACT: Having family history of the disease does increase your risk of getting cancer, but it is in no way a future prediction of a death sentence for you. 4 out of 10 cancers can be prevented by making simple daily routine changes. For instance, exercising regularly, eating healthy. If you have inherited the cancer genes, your doctor can help you with it. As they say, Prevention is better than cure.
MYTH: You won’t get cancer if no one in your family has had it.
FACT:Only 5-10% of cancer is inherited by you from your parents. Rest is triggered by your lifestyle choices; like using tobacco, being obese. Even exposure to certain radiations can cause cancer mutations. These mutations accumulated throughout your life can cause cancer. That is why most of the cancer patients are 60 or older.
MYTH: Cancer thrives on sugar.
FACT: There is no conclusive evidence supporting this claim even though internet is filled up this rumor that not having sugar will cure the disease. Sugar is required for cancer cells or normal cells to grow. Increasing your intake or reducing your intake of sugar is in no way related to increasing or eradicating cancer. But more intake of sugar is related to obesity, diabetes which in turn increases your risk of cancer and open doors to many other health problems.
