How do you know what is a myth vs. fact when it comes to your health? There is so much information available on the internet and at our fingertips, but how do you know what is truly factual.
During breast cancer awareness month, we are asking breast health experts to weigh in and clear up a few common misconceptions.
“I talk to women every day about misinformation and erroneous ideas about the value of mammography or their own lifetime risk of breast cancer,” said January Lopez, M.D., medical director, breast imaging. “The truth is that mammograms remain the gold standard of breast cancer detection and prevention, and all women are at risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetimes.”
The Role of Genetics
MYTH: Only women with a family member who had breast cancer can carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene
FACT: Heather Macdonald, M.D., breast surgical oncologist and medical director of the Hoag Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention program said. BRCA1 and 2 are two of over 70 known genes that when inherited from your parents can increase your risk of breast cancer. Each of those genes also increase risks of other cancers, such as ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, endometrial and melanoma. Families with a history of cancer, especially if they occur at a younger age than average or affect unusual family members (for example, male breast cancer) should seek genetic counseling and consider testing for inherited cancer-causing genes. We’ve made so much progress in cancer screening and prevention that knowing your family carries a cancer related gene allows us to protect and successfully treat in ways we couldn’t a generation ago.
The Value of Self-Exams
MYTH: Self-exams can replace mammograms
FACT: Not all breast cancers produce a palpable lump and lumps that are big enough to feel might be at an advanced stage. “We don’t discourage self breast exams, but it doesn’t compare to a mammography as a detection tool – particularly for early-stage breast cancer,” Dr. Lopez said. “And the earlier we can detect breast cancer, the better the outcome.”
The Safety of Mammograms
MYTH: Mammograms produce too much radiation
FACT: The amount of radiation involved in a typical mammogram is equal to one year of background radiation. What is background radiation? You’re soaking in it right now. “We are constantly exposed to ionizing radiation from natural and man-made sources. It makes up about half of our annual radiation exposure, and mammography does not appreciably increase that annual amount,” Dr. Lopez said.
The Role of Foods
MYTH: Soy increases your risk of breast cancer
FACT: “People ask all the time if eating soy containing foods is safe. The isoflavones in soy that mimic estrogen are at too low a concentration to increase breast cancer risk. It is very difficult to ingest enough isoflavones from soy containing foods to impact the human body. A good rule to follow for healthy eating is to eat in moderation, and foods with soy can be an important part of a healthy diet.
The Use of Deodorant
MYTH: Aluminum deodorant increases your risk of breast cancer
FACT: Aluminum-based antiperspirants got media’s attention, and there is still a whiff of danger about them, but Dr. Lopez says studies have not found a relationship between breast cancer and antiperspirants and other aluminum-based products. Still sweating it? “The concern rises from the amount of aluminum absorbed into the body through antiperspirant, but breast cancer tissue does not contain more aluminum than normal breast tissue. And a study of women with breast cancer found no real difference in the concentration of aluminum between the cancer and the surrounding normal tissue.”
So, what can you do to for your breast health?
“The most effective way for women is to take control of your health and schedule your annual screening mammograms and talk with your doctor,” Dr. Lopez said.
To schedule a mammogram today, call 949-764-5573 or schedule online.
