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Oncologists told about some misconceptions connected with development of cancer tumors

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
 
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07 February 2014, 10:40

Currently, cancer is the most common disease in the world, so the population appears a variety of myths and misconceptions, which oncologists found it necessary to dispel, so that people who have been diagnosed with cancer, did not treat this as a sentence.

It is widely believed that cancer can not be done anything, and treatment will only delay death a little. But as statistics show, if the tumor is detected at an early stage, then 1/3 of the most common forms of cancers are well treatable. Despite the fact that the number of cancer patients increases with each passing day, the number of people successfully coping with this disease also increases. In addition, at present oncologists have the opportunity to significantly improve the quality of life of their patients.

The second widely held opinion is that the risks of tumor development can not be controlled. This is only part of the truth, since universal protection against cancer has not yet been invented, but the right way of life and balanced nutrition have a fairly effective effect.

Often people think that if there were no cases of cancer in the family before, then you should not be afraid of this ailment. As is known, cancer is hereditary, but only about 10% of cancers are directly inherited by genes. The main cause of development of malignant formations is the mutation of genes, which can provoke smoking, chemicals, radiation and other external factors.

There is also a misconception that frequent frequent use of antiperspirants, hair colors provokes the development of cancer. All these cosmetic products are not really good for health, but their use is not connected with the development of oncology.

Many believe that, despite not all achievements in the field of medicine, all cancer patients suffer from severe pain. Indeed, very often the development of a cancerous tumor, especially in later stages, is accompanied by pain, but modern drugs can cure the strongest pain attacks in 95% of cases.

People have recently expressed the view that drinking water from plastic bottles provokes the development of cancer, since dangerous compounds enter the water. In fact, this is a controversial moment, since there is no reliable data on the carcinogenic properties of such water. However, the bisphenol-A contained in bottles actually represents some danger to human health, but at present there is no evidence that this substance provokes cancer.

Among the sick there is an opinion that radiation and chemical therapy have a much worse effect on the body than the disease itself. Indeed, such treatment methods can cause serious side effects, but recent development scientists can significantly reduce the negative effect on the body of such treatment.

It is also believed that when using special creams to protect sunlight (especially if you use them every day), you can protect yourself from the development of skin cancer. This kind of cream blocks ultraviolet radiation, but there is no evidence that they are really capable of preventing the development of skin cancer. In addition, some experts believe that the use of such creams leads to a deficiency in the body of vitamin D.

Many people believe that smoking one or two cigarettes a day will protect them from cancer. In fact, smoking provokes many cases of cancer, and reducing the number of cigarettes smoked per day will reduce the risk by only 5%.

Among the population, it is widely believed that frequent use of a mobile phone provokes brain cancer. However, according to experts, this opinion has not found scientific evidence. Danish specialists did not find a link between the development of brain cancer and the use of mobile phones in a survey of 420,000 people.

However, experts warn that for the next 20 years the number of cancer patients will increase by 22 million annually, in this case it is estimated that about 13 million people will die of cancer per year. At the same time, the bulk of oncological diseases will appear not only in developed countries, but also in underdeveloped countries. According to WHO statistics, mortality in Asia, Africa, South and Central America is now 70%.

trusted-source[1], [2], [3]

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