MANILA, Philippines - The importance of women in our lives is undeniable. They are our mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, bosses, and many other roles. That’s why it’s also undeniable that whatever affects women affects us as a whole, too, and one of the biggest health issues affecting women is breast cancer. In fact, ICanServe Foundation founder Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala states that the Philippines has the highest incidence of breast cancer in Southeast Asia. With this in mind, Filinvest City in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, in cooperation with Zonta Club Alabang and I Can Serve Foundation, encourages women everywhere to take charge of their precious health and be proactive in taking care of it.
To get women started on the basics of breast cancer education, Filinvest City debunks some of the most popular myths about the disease.
• Myth: If you find a lump in your breast, it’s automatically cancer.
Fact: It is a commonly held belief that the very first sign you should watch out for in detecting breast cancer is a lump. Women everywhere panic whenever they feel a lumpy mass during a breast self-exam. However, it doesn’t mean that just because you or your doctor feel something bumpy during a breast exam, you have already developed the disease. Roughly 80 percent of lumps in the breasts are actually caused by non-cancerous hormonal changes. Breasts can also become fibrocystic due to other benign conditions. Some women also have naturally lumpy breast tissue. It’s good to report these changes to your doctor, though, as early detection of cancer cells goes a long way.
Moreover, lumps are not the only sign of breast cancer. Other symptoms to watch out for are thickening in an area of the breast, change in the size or shape of the breast, dimpling of skin, change in the shape of the nipple, nipple inversion (if it wasn’t inverted before), bloody discharges from your nipple, rashes, and swelling in the armpit.
• Myth: Underwire bras and deodorants increase your risk of breast cancer.
Fact: In 1995, a husband-and-wife medical team claimed in their book that women who wore tight-fitting bras increased their risk of breast cancer because they inhibit the lymphatic system of the breast from getting rid of toxins. However, recent research has proven that these claims are actually unscientific.
Deodorants and antiperspirants were also claimed to cause breast cancer because they disallow the body from getting rid of toxins via sweat. However, most cancer-causing substances are actually removed by the kidneys through urine or processed by the liver. Research also shows that even the strongest antiperspirants on the market do not block all perspiration in the armpit. Even the parabens used as preservatives in many deodorant brands showed no cause-and-effect connection with breast cancer.
• Myth: Most women with breast cancer have a family history of the disease.
Fact: When Angelina Jolie found out that she has the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations that increase the risk of breast cancer inherited from her mother’s side of the family, she decided to be proactive and undergo a mastectomy. This sent millions of women across the globe in a frenzy, trying to find out if they have a family history of the disease. That would mean that if they find a relative with this kind of cancer, they’d sooner or later develop it, right?
In reality, roughly 75% of all breast cancer cases are from women who have no risk factors, and less than 10 percent are from women with the BRCA gene mutations. While it is true that having relatives with breast cancer does increase your chances of developing it, it does not necessarily mean you would definitely have the disease.
• Myth: Men don’t get breast cancer.
Fact: The common image of a breast cancer patient or survivor is usually in her 50s and female. This is why breast cancer is the last thing on their minds when men feel any of the symptoms. Of course, that is until they actually get diagnosed with the disease.
An average of over 2,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. In fact, studies show that in the last 25 years, there has been an increase of 26% in male breast cancer incidence. One of the biggest risk factors for male breast cancer is a genetic disorder called Klinefelter’s Syndrome wherein a man has an extra X chromosome. Symptoms and treatment options are pretty much the same as those for female breast cancer.