Healthy Lifestyle Radio Storytime

Some beliefs that only affects those who have a family history or age, or that the risk depends on breast size, plus former are harmful because they induce lower our guard against the disease.

One in two cancers diagnosed are cured, and the word cancer is no longer synonymous with terminal illness, said Professor Alfredo Carrato, president of the Spanish Society for Medical Oncology (SEOM), who stresses that there are still increasing rates healing and life expectancy of most tumors receiving concurrent treatment.

In the case of breast cancer in recent years there has been continuous progress in all fields, and there is increasing therapeutic options to treat the condition, in surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone treatment.

Thanks to early diagnosis, early treatment and multidisciplinary, and monitoring and periodic monitoring are increasingly able to reduce the worst consequences of the disease and prevent relapse, which worsen the prognosis because most cases occur in the liver or bones.

In some cancers is almost reaching its chronic course, with the availability of drugs that can be combined with each other and can reduce disease and improve quality of life.

But many of these advances can be worth little if instead of addressing the scientific evidence, which shows that the sooner you discover and treat the disease, the best cure and credit is given to a series of false beliefs, which induce mistakes and oversights, which can be harmful and even lethal:

“If there are no cases in my family, I am safe “
FALSE: Although an alteration inherited through the genes is a major risk factor for having a breast tumor, more than 80 percent of women who develop breast cancer have no history of illness in his family. It is therefore necessary not to trust that “is safe” because the mother, grandmother or aunt have not fallen ill, and submit to regular gynecological examinations and mammograms when above 40 years of age.

“The disease transmits the mother, not the father”
FALSE: Not only the women’s branches of the family can transmit genetic alterations. We must also take account of the tree’s genetic father, because abnormalities may come from the ascending males. Even the father, not just their female ancestors can “leave behind” a gene implicated in the onset of the disease.

Furthermore, when breast cancer affect the male, a fact that occurs in a proportion far below the female, is related to certain specific genetic abnormalities.

“You have to worry until menopause”
FALSE: Although the chances of breast cancer increases with the passing years, this does not mean that it can occur at any age. In fact, one reason why experts stress the importance of early detection is that this disease is growing every day among the younger female group, where it may even be more aggressive, because the cellular activity is most intense.

So all women should be alert to the appearance of lumps or other abnormalities or abnormal secretions from breasts at any age, and to see a doctor at the slightest suspicion.

“I can do nothing to prevent the disease”
FALSE: In addition to regular reviews, you can do enough in the field of nutrition. In addition to preventing cardiovascular disease and diabetes, another reason to maintain a healthy weight is that after menopause there is an increased incidence of breast cancer among obese women. There is also evidence that excess saturated fats in the diet may be a factor favoring the development of breast tumors, especially those related to hormonal factors, so you should moderate the presence of fatty foods and whole milk in the diet daily.

“Having small breasts makes me less likely”
MYTH: Breast size has no relation to the probability of having a tumor. Any woman, regardless of the size of your bra, can affect disease. Neither is true or scientific basis of common belief that the fasteners, particularly those with rings, impede the circulation of blood and lymph in the breast, increasing the chance of developing this tumor.