Debunking Breast Cancer Myths 

How Well Do You Know Your Breasts?

No doubt you have read dozens of articles and e-mails about breast cancer and been personally touched by its terror far too much. Be an advocate for accuracy when it comes to the facts about breast cancer.

Probably the hardest fact to accept is that breast cancer is not preventable. Although it is possible to identify risk factors such as family history or gene mutations and adjust your lifestyle to lower your risk, roughly 70 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors, meaning that the disease occurs largely by chance.

If you have considered women with no family history of breast cancer and no mutated BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes off the hook, you're wrong. That's why every woman needs to be checked regularly, without exception.

Over the last few years it has become trendy to find breast cancer scapegoats and spread the word. The truth is numerous scientific studies have found no causal connection between getting breast cancer and any of the following activities: wearing underwire bras, using antiperspirant, getting breast implants, living near power lines, using hair straighteners, or consuming caffeine. Unfortunately the answer is just not that simple.

Another group of women believe that the radiation received during a mammogram causes cancer. It's true that patients are exposed to tiny levels of radiation, but doctors consider the trace amount miniscule compared to the wealth of information the mammogram provides to the physician as a baseline and as a means to monitor change from year to year.

Lumps are a great source of debate as well. Many believe that a painful lump signifies a harmless one and a painless one denotes malignancy. There is actually no correlation between cancer and lump pain. Any lump should be checked by a doctor as soon as possible. The list of myths goes on and on, so dig deeper when it comes to getting your breast cancer facts. Fight breast cancer with truth. It's a powerful weapon.

Alaska Regional Hospital is fortunate to offer digital mammography which captures better pictures in half the time with less discomfort. To schedule your annual mammogram, call 907-264-1244 and don't forget to schedule a yearly exam with your physician.