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Dispelling Myths about Cancer

The disease we fear the most… Here we dispel several misconceptions to help allay people’s fears.

 

Cancer is a word which evokes strong feelings and is associated with fear and panic, but this shouldn’t be the case. Many patients have preconceived ideas about cancer which are not accurate, they are normally the result of misunderstood or distorted information which is often much scarier than reality. Although there are many misconceptions, we will focus on the 10 which we believe to be most relevant.

 
 

 
 

Myth 1: Cancer is always fatal.

Fortunately nowadays cancer is curable in around 50-60% of cases, this percentage reaches 90% in some of them such as breast cancer. However the term cure, in relation to cancer, is understood to be a time lasting from 5 to 10 years (depending on the type of tumour) during which there is no trace of the disease (tumour).

 

Depending on the stage at which they are detected, the majority of cancers are treatable and curable. Some forms of cancer can even be cured at an advanced stage, including advanced testicular cancer as well as Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. It is expected in the near future that it will be possible to cure the majority of forms of breast, colon, prostate and skin cancer, including melanoma.

 
 

Myth 2: Cancer causes hair loss.

Cancer itself does not cause hair to fall out, however some forms of cancer treatment, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, do have the capacity to do so. Therefore in this respect this is true.

 

However, it is important to understand that there are many treatments which cause limited or no hair loss. We estimate that around half of the chemotherapy treatments used do not have this side effect. The newer non-traditional, targeted drugs do not cause hair loss during treatment either.

 

At HC Marbella, we use the DigniCap System, a system which prevents hair loss in those chemotherapy treatments which do have this effect. 8 out of 10 patients are very satisfied with the results obtained and don’t need to wear a wig.

 
 

Myth 3: Cancer is contagious.

You cannot catch cancer from another person, from physical contact, secretions or anything else in the air, it is not contagious. However, it is true that there are some viruses or bacteria which can be transmitted from person to person which can contribute to an increased risk of cancer.

 

The most well-known is the human papilloma virus (HPV) which can lead to an increased risk of cervical cancer, and of oropharyngeal cancer, a type of cancer of the head and neck. The Epstein-Barr virus has been linked to cancer of the nose and throat, and to certain lymphomas. Cancers derived from viruses can develop decades after the moment of exposure, and for some of these, such as HPV, there is now a vaccine.
 
 

Myth 4: ‘My mother had cancer, which means I’ll get it too.’

Currently it is estimated that cancer is hereditary in a small number of cases, around 5% in total. Having a family member with cancer can increase the risk of developing cancer to a certain extent, although it is not definitive. There are some families with a certain gene mutation which can be inherited and which predisposes to some types of tumour such as the BRCA gene in breast cancer. These families undergo very strict monitoring and in some cases even have surgical procedures to reduce the risk of its occurrence.

 

The reality is that many people who have cancer do not have a family history of the disease and many people with a family history never develop the disease.

 
 

Myth 5: Cancer is always painful.

Some cancers never cause any pain. One of the main aspects of cancer treatment is paying attention to pain. It is very important to talk to your doctor if this develops, there are many drugs and procedures which can be used to treat it.

 
 

Myth 6: Cancer always has to be treated immediately.

Although it may come as a surprise, this is not so. Being diagnosed with cancer does not mean that you have to be treated straight away, it may be possible to wait. It is difficult to explain to some people and difficult to understand. In the case of some slow growing cancers, instead of using invasive treatment, there is often a period of monitoring, observing whether the cancer grows or remains stable. These cancers include slow-growing lymphomas and leukaemias as well as some forms of prostate cancer.

 

Sometimes the best option is to use therapies which manage rather than cure the disease, with people living for years with the cancer. In some circumstances it can be appropriate to do nothing. If you have other significant diseases, cancer may not be your most serious threat, or if your cancer is in its final stages you may decide not to treat it, but to undergo palliative treatment instead, to improve your quality of life.

 
 

Myth 8: He died of a cancer that developed suddenly.

Generally cancer takes years to develop. The problem is that there are cases which do not produce symptoms until at a very advanced phase, and on occasions very shortly before the patient dies. With the exception of those types of cancer for which there are early diagnostic tests, the majority of cases are diagnosed incidentally when visiting the doctor for what is thought to be a different ailment.

 
 

Myth 8: Eating very little fruit and vegetables increases the risk of cancer.

The protective action of fruit and vegetables exists, but it isn’t anything in comparison to the danger of smoking, alcoholism, obesity or a sedentary lifestyle. Those who eat a lot of fruit usually do this in the context of a full and healthy diet, this needs to be supplemented by regular physical exercise and avoiding risky behaviours as much as possible.

 
 

Myth 9: Stress causes cancer.

You shouldn’t confuse cellular stress with psychological stress. Cellular stress is a complex, biochemical process which occurs within the cell itself and is related to several conditions, one of them cancer. What the average man in the street refers to as stress in everyday life does not cause cancer, unless it is associated with risky behaviours (smoking, excessive alcohol consumption etc.).

 
 

Myth 10: High voltage electricity pylons, microwaves and mobile phones cause cancer.

After thousands of scientific studies performed on the possible relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields and cancer, it has only been possible to demonstrate that there is an increased risk of suffering from a certain type of leukaemia in children, not adults, who live less than 100 metres from a high voltage pylon. Regarding microwaves and mobile phones, there is not one study, and there have been many, which confirms the link.

 
 

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, team up with your doctor!

The important thing, with any query, is to contact your doctor. Patients should not be frightened of asking their medical team questions. You should be able talk and establish a trusting relationship. From the nursing staff to the oncologist and surgeons, our oncology teams can answer any type of query, however strange it might seem. Don’t be afraid to ask.

 

 

February 1, 2018

 

 

 

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