Myths Related to Breast Cancer

Wearing a bra causes breast cancer:

INCORRECT!

A case-control study of postmenopausal women was conducted by Chen et al in 2015 which found no evidence that any aspect of bra wearing is associated with risk of invasive breast cancer.

Several other studies have been conducted including women who wear wired and wire free bra, however there is no scientific evidence to prove that bras cause cancer.

Use of antiperspirants causes breast cancer:

INCORRECT!

Aluminium used in antiperspirants has shown no significant correlation or causality towards development of breast cancer.

Aluminium, mainly in the form of aluminium chloride and aluminium chlorohydrate, is a main component of the large majority of commercialized antiperspirants. In addition to preventing sweating, probably by physically obstructing sweat glands, aluminium is absorbed through the skin. So far we don’t have any conclusive studies to prove Antiperspirants to be a cause of breast cancer.

Breast Implants Correlation to Breast Cancer

CONTROVERSIAL!

Although not shown to be related to breast cancer, breast implants have been shown to be related to anaplastic large-cell lymphoma.

According to the FDA, “All of the information to date suggests that women with breast implants have a very low but increased risk of developing anaplastic large-cell lymphoma compared to women who do not have breast implants.”

There's nothing you can do to lower your risk of Breast Cancer:

INCORRECT!

Exercise, diet and decreased alcohol intake are important for lowering your risk of breast cancer.

More than two dozen studies have shown that women who exercise have a 30 percent to 40 percent lower risk of breast cancer than their sedentary peers.

A low-carb and low-moderate fat containing diet with plenty of vegetables and fiber has shown to decrease risk of breast cancer.

Also, women who drink less than 3 drinks a week, have 15-20% decreased risk of developing breast cancer. If you want to do everything you can to lower your breast cancer risk, limiting how much alcohol you drink makes sense. You may choose to stop drinking alcohol completely. But if you plan to continue drinking, try to have two or fewer alcoholic drinks per week.

Breast cancer runs in families only. If I don't have family history of breast cancer, I am not at risk:

INCORRECT!

You can get breast cancer even if it doesn’t run in your family. Most women diagnosed with breast cancer, more than 75% women have no family history.