After a breast cancer diagnosis, women (and men) have to weigh many, often complex treatment options. Then, along with the help of their medical team and family members, they must make important choices about their care. Key to making these decisions is reliable information about breast cancer.
Unfortunately, not all the information people have access to is as trustworthy as it should be.
The Internet can be a source of good information, but it is also filled with myths about breast cancer. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between the good information and the myths.
Here, we debunk five common myths about breast cancer treatment. We hope this will help put your mind at ease and help you make the best possible choices for your treatment.
Myth No. 1: Breast cancer surgery and biopsies cause cancer to spread.
Breast cancer surgery and surgical biopsies do not cause breast cancer to spread. What about surgery and other types of cancer? For some cancers, such as uterine cancer, surgery may in some cases spread the cancer. For example, you may have seen recent news stories about specific surgical procedures that are sometimes used to perform hysterectomy and myomectomy (removal of growths from the uterus). Certain procedures used in uterine surgery have been found to spread undiagnosed cancer cells into the abdomen and pelvic area.
If a woman has undiagnosed cancer of the uterus, those cancer cells can then spread and grow in other organs. So, there is no risk of spreading breast cancer cells.
Myth No. 2: If a titanium clip is left in my breast after a biopsy, it can damage the breast or travel to other parts of my body.
Titanium guiding clips, also called markers, have been used since the late 1990s to mark the location of a suspicious area in the breast.
Inserted during an image-guided needle biopsy, these small (2 to 3 millimeter) clips show up on X-rays and other images to help surgeons locate and remove breast tumors.
During surgery to remove a breast tumor, the clip is also removed. If surgery is not needed, the clip is left in place. If the biopsy did not show breast cancer, you would not have surgery just to remove the clip.
Clips do not damage the breast and are safe with only rare cases of allergic reactions.
Data shows that clips stay close to their original location and do not travel beyond the breast. The clips also can help with the follow-up of benign breast conditions.
Myth No. 3: I don’t have time to get a second opinion because I must begin treatment as soon as possible.
One of the most important things to do when considering breast cancer treatment options is to get a second opinion. Most breast cancers grow slowly enough that taking the time to meet with several doctors and consider the best approaches to treatment won’t affect survival.
The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program guidelines recommend starting treatment within 60 days of being diagnosed. While many women start treatment in about half this time, there doesn’t seem to be any survival difference between people who begin treatment less than 30 days after diagnoses compared to those who begin 30 to 59 days after diagnosis.
Of course, it’s important to not delay treatment for too long, especially with later-stage cancers. However, nearly everyone with breast cancer can take the time they need to consider their options without affecting survival, provided treatment is started within the 60-day recommended period.
Myth No. 4: Everyone diagnosed with breast cancer dies from breast cancer or everyone diagnosed with breast cancer survives.
It is a myth that anyone who gets breast cancer will die from breast cancer. With modern treatment, about 90 percent of women with early stage breast cancer now live five or more years after diagnosis.
Each case is different though and average rates of survival vary greatly by cancer stage.
While breast cancer survival rates have been a triumph of the past 20 years, they still show how serious breast cancer is today. So, it is a myth that everyone who gets breast cancer dies from breast cancer. And, it is also a myth that everyone who gets breast cancer survives. Many people will survive breast cancer but some, unfortunately, will not.
Credit: komen.org
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