For she said to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I’ll be made well.”  But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Take courage, daughter; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well.” And at once the woman was [completely] healed. — Matthew 9:21-22

Over the past few years, it has been amazing to pause and wonder at the leaps medical science has made globally. From heart transplants to the development of vaccines that halt the spread of killer diseases such as COVID-19, or the eradication of debilitating ones such as polio. While finding a cure is still a pipe dream, there are myths, facts, and more myths that circulate and make the rounds, often leading to many populations of people with pre-existing illnesses, suffering over and over again.

 Recently Dr. Silva held a breast cancer awareness seminar in a condominium in Alexandria, USA. Entitled “Common Breast Cancer Myths and Fact-Based Responses,” the doctor highlighted seven myths people not only hold dear in their hearts but also spread, often causing much grief to many people stick. Not very helpful.

Dr. Silva said the first myth is that “if you are diagnosed with breast cancer, you will probably die from it.” Silva pointed out that most women with breast cancer do not die of breast cancer. He said it was a fact that 70 to 90 percent of women survive a diagnosis of breast cancer, with 90 percent of women with early-stage breast cancer survive.

The second myth states that “having a double mastectomy (removal of both breasts)is the best way to avoid having breast cancer in the future. However less that 3% of women with one breast cancer will develop a second breast cancer in the opposite breast. Dr. Silva points to two truths on this point as follows:

i.                    The occurrence of cancer in the opposite breast is 0.3% per year and is reduced to less than half (0.15%) by chemo and hormone-blocking drugs.

ii.                 Death due to breast cancer is not reduced by removing the normal breast but is reduced by treating the cancer on the affected breast.

The third myth claims that having cancer in one breast makes it more likely that one will get it in the other breast. Dr. Silva counters this by advancing that only women with bad genes (5 out of 100 women with breast cancer) have an increased risk (40%) of getting cancer in the other breast. He pointed out that a simple blood test can identify with 95% accuracy, those women who have bad genes. He said only 5 out of 100 female breast cancer patients have bad genes. The other 95 women just had bad luck and have only a 3% chance of developing cancer in the other breast.

Among the myths about breast cancer is that if other members of your family have breast cancer, you will probably get it too. Consequently, it would be better to consider a double mastectomy. Silva tears this fourth myth by stating that the fact that 95 women out of 100 die from cancer due to bad luck and not bad family genes. He said only 15% of women with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer and only 5% are found to have bad genes. Even in families with bad genes, only one of two children will inherit the bad genes.

Mastectomy (removal of the breast) is better than having a lumpectomy, which usually requires radiation, which is the fifth myth. It is a fact Dr. Silva said that women undergoing a mastectomy have the same mortality as women undergoing a lumpectomy with radiation. He said having a lumpectomy with radiation is called breast conservation. The local recurrence for some breast cancers may be actually lower with breast conservation than for mastectomy.

The sixth myth about breasts is that women who have a mastectomy, do not need to have radiation therapy. However, as Silva points out, radiation is still required for many women who have a mastectomy. He furthermore points out that having a mastectomy, may not avoid the need for radiation. Even without the need for radiation, a mastectomy is more disfiguring than a lumpectomy.

The last and seventh myth states that breast cancer requires immediate surgery since it can spread. On average, Dr. Silva counters, palpable breast cancer has been in place for 1 to 2 years. He said that there is no need to hurry to get surgery as in many cases, many questions must be answered before surgery. He sites that chemo can be used before surgery to shrink tumors while addressing these.

Medical science discoveries have made a lot of headway in the management of scary and serious diseases and illnesses. These used to make people scared, others had to bring in relatives or a truckload of friends just to listen to hear the doctor give the cancer news. Fortunately, however, medical science has put an end to many of these fears, and women can hear the diagnosis of the big C word; it is no longer a death statement.

There is life after a Cancer diagnosis; so please toss away the myths, embrace the facts, and practice making your responses.