WHY IS THE WORD “CANCER” SO SCARY?

“Cancer” is a powerful word that evokes strong feelings. It’s a word associated with a lot of fear, but it shouldn’t be. Let’s talk about a few common myths surrounding cancer.

MYTH 1: Cancer is always fatal.

• Most forms of cancer, depending on when they’re caught, are treatable and curable.
• Some forms of cancer are even curable at advanced stages.
• We usually expect to cure most early forms of breast, colon, prostate, and skin cancer, including melanoma.
• We can cure advanced testicular cancer and lymphomas.

Myth 2: Cancer will make your hair fall out.

• Cancer itself won’t make your hair fall out.
• Some forms of cancer treatment — some chemotherapy medicines and local radiation — can.
• But you should know that there are lots of treatments that cause limited or no hair loss.
• Around half of the chemotherapies, we use don’t cause hair loss.
• Many newer, targeted drugs also won’t cause you to lose your hair.

Myth 3: Cancer is contagious.

• You can’t catch cancer from another person. Not through contact or secretions or anything in the air.
• Cancer is not contagious. Remember that.
• But some viruses and infections can increase your cancer risk. The best-known example is HPV (human papilloma virus), which can lead to an increased risk of cervical cancer and some types of head and neck cancers.

Myth 4: Cancer is always painful.

• Most cancers never cause pain.
• Cancer treatments also do not cause pain.
• For those cancers that do, one of our main focuses in treating cancer is paying attention to pain.
• Palliative care and pain management is a huge aspect of treatment.

Myth 5: “My mom had cancer- that means I will get it too”.

• Having a family member with cancer may modestly increase your risk of developing certain cancers, like breast or colon cancer.
• Still, developing cancer in these cases isn’t inevitable.
• Most people with cancer have no family history of the disease.
• And most people with a family history of cancer never develop the disease.