The hallmark of cancer is the abnormal growth of cells. Over 100 types of cancer have been listed, and symptoms vary per type. Decades ago, a cancer diagnosis was equal to a death sentence. Thankfully with groundbreaking research and medical advances, the once overly-feared diseased is now gaining ground as a preventable and even curable illness.
Still, myths surrounding cancer continue to abound. Here are two of them.
Myth: Lifestyle choices during your younger years do not count.
Cancer may seem like light years away when you're 18 years old and smoking as much sticks of cigarettes as you want. But according to medical oncologist Dr. Foo Kian Fong, M.D. of Parkway Health, Singapore, cancer risk factors are age, sex, genetic make-up, pollutants, viruses, and lifestyle. How we eat, how often we exercise, the amount of alcohol we drink, the number of cigarettes we smoke, and how long we stay under the sun, are included. Dr. Fong adds that every single thing we do from the moment we are born counts, and could affect cancer risk later on in life.
Myth: Chemotherapy always leads to hair loss.
Chemotherapy can result to alopecia- the partial or complete loss of hair. This is due to chemotherapy drugs that target fast-growing cells in the body, such as cancer cells. Unfortunately, such drugs have no way of distinguishing good cells from bad cells. Hair, a fast-growing cell, becomes an unknowing target. However, recent medical breakthroughs such as the FudaCancer Hospital's local chemotherapy have made it possible to receive cancer treatment without losing one's hair. Japanese nanotechnology allows the chemotherapy drug to target the tumor without hitting other cells. Also, researchers at the Universities of Granada, Edinbrough, and Kebangsaan in Malaysia have been successful in developing equipment using nanotechnology that may help prevent other chemotherapy side effects.
