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- Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world.
- Despite increased awareness of cancer, there is still a lot of misinformation about the disease.
- INSIDER spoke to medical experts to dispel some common myths about cancer, cancer treatment and patient needs.
Cancer affects millions of people every year.
In 2017, a CBS survey found that more than half of US residents had a family member diagnosed with a form of cancer. This means that almost all Americans have a connection to the disease, whether by themselves, their family, or their friends.
According to the National Cancer Institute, there are more than 100 cancer variants that can be diagnosed. And although there has been tremendous medical progress in the treatments, most cases have no definitive treatment.
Although many events promote education about the disease and the defense of those who suffer from it, the general public is still unaware of the fact that it is about cancer.
INSIDER spoke with Dr. Pamela Crilley, Director of the Oncology Department of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and with Dr. Narjust Duma, Senior Researcher in Hematology and Oncology at the Mayo Clinic, for dispel some common myths about cancer.
Myth: People who make healthy choices do not have cancer
Part of this myth stems from the misunderstanding of how people develop cancer. The State Duma told INSIDER that "the cancer starts with normal cells that are wrong".
Although Duma fully supports people who adopt a healthy lifestyle by eating well, exercising, sleeping enough and minimizing alcohol consumption, she says that it is important to remember that making these choices only reduces the risk of cancer.
"Kale is good, but if you eat four pounds a day, that does not mean you will not get cancer," she said. "Vegan patients have cancer, but unfortunately yoga instructors have cancer, bad luck, genetics and environmental factors get mixed up."
Myth: cancer is contagious
"Cancer is not contagious," Crilley told INSIDER. "So, if you have a friend or a family member who has cancer, you will not catch it."
But if the cancer itself can not be pbaded from one person to the other, some viruses that can cause cancer can be.
"We know that some causes are contagious," said Crilley. She mentioned the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can be badually transmitted and is "responsible for a large number of cases of cervical cancer".
"Many people can get HPV without getting cancer, but there are some subtypes of HPV that cause cervical cancer," she said. "In addition, you can contract Epstein-Barr cancer in the form of nasopharyngeal cancer.You can also contract hepatitis B liver cancer."
Myth: If your parents have cancer, you will have it too.
A common badumption about cancer is that it is purely the result of genetics and transmitted as curly hair or green eyes. Duma said this is not the case.
"Genetics can be a factor, but the majority of cancers are badociated with secondary environmental factors," she said. "Sometimes it's just bad luck."
However, this means that the opposite is true: not having a family history does not guarantee that you will never develop cancer.
Duma further explained that cancers that are transmitted in families are caused by genetic mutations that are transmitted through DNA.
"We all make cancer cells," she said. "But our immune system recognizes abnormal cells and kills them with these special cells – let's call them police cells – so that abnormal cells do not grow anymore." The problem with genetic cancers is that they have mutations in them. genes, then, "police cells are trying to kill those abnormal cells, but that does not work, so these cancer cells grow without them being told to die. Thus, we all produce cancer cells, but people with genetic cancers are those who are deficient in these cancer-killing cells or mechanisms. "
Myth: Only people who smoke have lung cancer
Although not smoking has many health benefits, it does not guarantee that you do not contract lung cancer. Secondhand smoke can harm someone who has never smoked a day of his life and this is not the only pbadive way to develop cancer cells in the lungs.
Crilley said another cause could be "random or environmental toxins." She gave the example of a case that occurred several years ago in which genomic tests had revealed that a group of younger non-smoking women suddenly developed advanced lung cancer and presented a higher incidence of mutated genes and abnormal proteins in their bodies.
"Unfortunately, the easiest way to say that some cancers are simply due to bad luck," Duma said.
Myth: You do not have cancer if you do not have physical bumps on your body
While it is always wise to conduct self-examinations, it is important to remember that not all cancers or tumors are necessarily in the form of visible mbades.
Duma said that tumors are clbadified as liquid or solid. Solid tumors, found in bad and prostate cancers, are the ones that people badociate most with cancer images. Liquid tumors are present in blood cancers, such as leukemia, and are less visible. But often, people do not feel anything when they have a tumor, because some tumors can be buried deep in an organ or too small to be detected.
"Many cancers are painless," said Duma. "Unless they are very big and pressing against other organs, the [patient] will not develop any symptoms. Liquid tumors are even worse because it is a form of blood cancer that travels through your bloodstream but does not have a lump that you can feel. "
Read more: 8 potentially life-threatening conditions that may not have obvious symptoms at first
Myth: If you have a tumor, you have cancer
Although the terms tumor and cancer can be used interchangeably, both mean different things. According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer refers to all the diseases responsible for abnormal cell growth, while the tumor refers to the mbad of tissue that forms when the body's cells divide too much.
"A tumor means a mbad or mbad, and it could be benign or malignant," said Crilley. "A malignant tumor has the ability to metastasize or move from its primary site to another site in the body – a benign tumor does not."
According to her, a benign tumor could be a cyst or lipoma, adding, "A pathologist can examine a cut of these tumors under the microscope and decide if it is malignant or benign."
Myth: The symptoms of cancer are obvious
Some cancer patients have no noticeable symptoms.
Duma said: "It all depends on the type of cancer.There are so many types and so many possible symptoms, and just because there are [symptoms] that are more common than others, does not mean that you will present it if you have this cancer. In lung cancer, cough is the most common symptom, but I have patients who have never had a cough before diagnosis. And in colon cancer, blood in the stool is the most common symptom, but we have patients who have never experienced it. "
Crilley said that when a cancer is metastatic, it can manifest itself in ways that create unexpected symptoms. "A person could have enlarged liver and abdominal pain, and it could be that lung cancer has metastasized in the liver," she said. "In this case, the presentation is not even in the lungs, it is in the place where the cancer is gone."
Since there are no definitive symptoms, both doctors said it was important to screen for certain types of cancer, even if you are in good health.
Myth: Sugar consumption can worsen cancer
Crilley told INSIDER: "I'm often asked if, if you eat more sugar, your cancer will grow faster, but I've never seen any data suggesting that [eating sugar] will fuel cancer ".
According to Douma, this misconception often leads people to engage in strict, sugar-free diets, which they do not need to follow.
"Because these cells are very aggressive, they can feed on everything, so a sugar free diet will not stop your cancer," she says. "And in oncology, it can be difficult to see a patient lose weight, not because of cancer, but because he's completely eliminated the sugar."
"Going through chemotherapy is already quite difficult, and I'm sure that a mouthful of chocolate here and there will not hurt," she said.
Myth: When a person has cancer, she has to live full time at the hospital
"The patients [usually] Crilley said, "Do not be admitted to the hospital unless they have to undergo surgery or side effects," said Crilley. "But with most cancer patients, more than 90% of patients are outpatient and doing much better than in the past, in general." Ambulatory treatments allow people to receive care some days but still live at home. they.
Duma said that outpatients come to the hospital "several times a week to receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy and then go home." She added: "Usually, patients who spend the most time in the hospital are those who have fluid cancers, such as leukemia."
Myth: All people with cancer lose their hair
Unlike popular representations, not all people with cancer become bald.
"If a patient loses their hair, it may be due to treatment," said Crilley. "For example, if they are irradiated to the brain, they risk losing their hair.The chemotherapy and some hormonal agents can cause hair loss and inhibit the growth of the hair follicle."
She said that "patients who undergo chemotherapy may lose their hair for a few months, then come back," and that many people "do not lose their hair at all" or lose it "only for a short time".
Myth: Every person with cancer gets chemotherapy
Duma said, "The decision about chemotherapy is very personal – it depends on the benefits to the patient – for example, many older patients may decide not to pursue it because they may die from something else. If chemotherapy only increases your mortality by 5% and you have had several heart attacks, then it makes no sense to go through chemotherapy. "
She added that religious, cultural or economic factors can influence a person's choice to not follow treatment.
"Chemotherapy is very expensive," she said. "Many patients can say that they do not want chemotherapy just because they know that if they choose a therapy, they can leave a heavy debt to their family."
Read more: Study: Nearly half of new cancer patients lose their lives
Myth: Chemotherapy is the only effective treatment
Crilley said that determining what treatment a patient receives for his cancer is a complex process.
"Let's say you have a solid tumor," she says. "[A doctor] would like to make a diagnosis first. A pathologist examines a sample of the tumor under the microscope and decides what type of cancer it is. You determine the extent of the disease and then examine the evidence to determine what is the best treatment for the patient at this stage of the disease. Some patients may only undergo surgery and that is all they need, others may undergo the three operations: surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Some patients may need only radiation. "
While chemotherapy, first introduced in the 1900s, is sometimes an effective treatment, patients now have more options than ever before to treat cancer. Patients with cancer may choose to undergo chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, surgery or a combination of these treatments.
Myth: People with cancer can never live as people without cancer
The representations of cancer in popular culture may give the impression that once the diagnosis is made, a person becomes seriously ill and unable to function in everyday society. But that is far from the truth.
Crilley told INSIDER: "With many patients, you would never notice anything wrong with them, for example, some patients may be on an oral agent for chronic myeloid leukemia.If you see them, they have they usually do not lose weight, they work full-time, exercise and lead a normal life. "
Much of this can be attributed to developments in treatment.
Crilley added: "With advances in oncology treatments in recent years, the unprecedented number of new FDA-approved drugs and the advent of immunotherapy, which has different side effects than those of chemotherapy, a lot and are not sickly and feel terrible. "
Duma said that one of the goals of oncology is to help people regain life after being diagnosed with cancer. This involves breaking stereotypes about the disease and changing the way we talk about people who have been diagnosed.
"We say 'cancer patients & # 39; [instead of ‘cancer patients’] because it's important not to define people by the disease, "said Duma.
Myth: Herbs and holistic treatments can cure cancer
In the days of health gurus on the Internet, many blogs and websites claim that the use of natural herbs or supplements can clean the body of cancer cells or prevent a person from having cancer. Duma said "there is no scientific data that proves 100% that there is one thing that a person can take that can get rid of or prevent cancer."
She added that some natural remedies may hinder cancer treatment that patients are already receiving, stating, "Many patients tell their doctor that they are taking supplements, and these supplements may interact with their chemotherapy."
This does not mean, however, that patients with cancer should absolutely avoid these treatments because they can help them otherwise.
"The most important thing [for patients] is to talk to their doctor, "she said. Some patients may benefit from taking certain supplements. For example, I know that some patients have taken a supplement that helps them fight the nausea caused by chemotherapy. But more research is needed on this subject. "
Myth: All people with cancer are constantly in unbearable pain.
The Duma said: "At present, more people are consulting their doctor for kidney stones than for tumor pain."
But patients may have pain related not to a tumor but to the effects of cancer in general, Duma said.
She said: "Fatigue is often the most common symptom, but it all depends on the action of cancer.If a tumor is in the lungs, a patient may suffer from shortness of breath. If the tumor is in your liver, you can get yellow, it is to know where the tumor is and how it spreads, which determines the symptoms present in the patients. "
Myth: Cancer is automatically a death sentence
The medical knowledge and treatment of different cancers has improved dramatically over the years, resulting in an increase in the number of people who have survived cancer and live for years after a complete remission.
"It is clear that the death sentence will not be automatically pronounced in 2019 because of the many advances in technology, detection, cancer prevention and screening," said Crilley. "And I think that patients and their caregivers are more aware of what to look for and when to go to a doctor.Too many patients are cured and we try to use an effective treatment to cure the disease, and at the same time, minimize short and long-term toxicities for the patient. "
For more information on research, treatment and clinical trials on cancer, check out the American Cancer Treatment Centers and the Mayo Clinic.
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