Common Misperceptions About Breast Cancer
While breast cancer accounts for more than 30 percent of all female cancers, there are still many misperceptions about the disease.
As Summa Health System's breast care coordinator, Heidi Eve-Cahoon understands the anxiety and endless questions associated with a breast cancer diagnosis. She works with patients every day as they navigate their way through the treatment process by providing ongoing education, answering questions, listening to concerns and assisting with scheduling appointments and consultations.
To help clear up some common misperceptions about breast cancer, Eve-Cahoon provides the following myths and facts*:
Myth:
No one in my family has had breast cancer, so I am not at risk.
Fact:
Eighty percent of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of breast cancer. Approximately ten percent of breast cancer is due to genetic mutations that are inherited, which can be from either the mother's or the father's side of the family.
Myth:
Breast cancer only happens to older women.
Fact:
Of all new breast cancer diagnoses, five percent are in women 40 years and younger. That means approximately 11,000 young women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the next year.
Myth:
A mammogram can detect all breast cancers.
Fact:
Mammograms are the best screening tool available and have contributed to the early detection of breast cancer and survival of many women. However, it is not a perfect tool. Ten to twenty percent of breast cancers may not be found on a mammogram. This is why it's important to perform self exams and receive clinical exams by a healthcare provider.
Myth:
Breast cancer means having a mastectomy (surgical removal of the breast).
Fact:
If a cancer is found when it is small and there is only one spot of cancer in the affected breast, a lumpectomy (surgical removal of the lump) may be offered as an option. It has been shown that survival rates after a mastectomy and after a lumpectomy followed by radiation treatment are nearly equal.
Myth:
Only women get breast cancer.
Fact:
Men have a small amount of breast tissue under the nipple. Approximately one percent of newly diagnosed breast cancer is found in men. Any lump, nipple discharge or nipple ulceration should be reported to a healthcare provider.
Myth:
Breast cancer equals death.
Fact:
Although breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer, there were approximately 2.3 million women alive with a breast cancer history as of 2002. In general, the five-year survival rate of breast cancer is 88 percent and the ten year survival rate is 80 percent.
The number of deaths due to breast cancer could be much lower if more women followed three basic breast-health principles: perform monthly breast self-exams; have a yearly breast exam by a physician; and have routine mammograms.
To speak with Heidi Eve-Cahoon, Summa's breast care coordinator, call 330-375-7082.
*2007 Statistics from the National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society.
