Pink October: Busting Breast Cancer Myths

October is the breast cancer awareness month and is also referred to as 'Pink October. The aim is to spread awareness around the impact of breast cancer.

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control. There are different kinds of breast cancer. The kind of breast cancer depends on which cells in the breast turn into cancer.

Know all about one of most common cancers in women and some common myths around breast cancer, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Men Cannot Suffer From Breast Cancer

Majority of the population believe that men cannot suffer from breast cancer. There are more cases of breast cancer in women but men are not from the disease. Men have less breast tissue and that is why men rarely suffer from breast cancer. Less than 1 percent of all breast cancers occur in men.

Breast Cancer is Hereditary

Most of the cases of breast cancer have no family history. Breast cancer can be a result of change of genes and only 10-15 percent of children inherit such mutations from their parents. About 90 percent of cases are non-hereditary in nature. This means external factors like environment, alcohol, smoking and age might be the reason.

Healthy Lifestyle Can Protect Us From Breast Cancer

A healthy lifestyle is recommended, but they can only reduce the risk of breast cancer.

There's no guarantee that breast cancer can be prevented by following a healthy lifestyle since there are so many other factors that are out of one's control.

Bra Can Cause Breast Cancer

There is no evidence that shows a link between wearing an underwire bra – or any other kind of bra – and developing breast cancer.

None of the factors like cup size, underwiring, number of hours you wear a bra or how regular you wear a bra is connected to breast cancer.

Deodorants Can Cause Breast Cancer

According to various studies by NIH, there is no link between the use of deodorants, antiperspirants and breast cancer.

Some deodorants contain aluminium and parabens that were thought to be a risk. But later, it was found that parabens are used in most of cosmetics and self-care products. Aluminium just prevents the sweat from reaching the surface of the skin. They are not responsible for breast cancer in any way.

Lump is a Sign of Breast Cancer

People are sometimes under the impression that breast cancer always causes a lump. They might use this as a reason to skip mammograms. There are other signs like pain in the breasts, swelling, rashes, leaking nipples, blood, etc.

Also, every lump might not be cancerous. So, it's important to consult a doctor before coming to any conclusion.

Breast Cancer isn't Recurring 

Many people may believe that those recovered from breast cancer at an early stage are immune to the disease. This is a myth. People have less chances of reoccurrence but the danger is never completely gone. There's also a belief that if breast cancer doesn't come back after five years of first diagnosis, it will never come back. 20 percent of reoccurrence have been found even after 20 years of first time diagnosis.