Myth 1: Cancer is mainly determined by genes According to the survey, 1/5 respondents believe that cancer is mainly caused by hereditary genes. As a matter of fact, heredity is only one of the factors in the occurrence of cancer. Environmental pollution, poor living and dietary habits, excessive stress, etc., are closely related to the occurrence of cancer. Some cancers have a high hereditary risk and require attention to screening, for example, if a mother has breast cancer, her daughter’s risk of developing breast cancer is two to three times that of the general population. However, the genetic risk of some cancers is very small, for example, only about 5% of colorectal cancer patients are genetically related. Research has confirmed that, compared with genes, smoking, alcoholism, staying up late and other bad habits, air pollution, chemical and pesticide residues and other environmental pollution, the body’s damage is heavier. Myth 2: Cancer is not preventable Many people believe that cancer is not preventable and do not know what to pay attention to in life. The World Health Organization proposed that 1/3 of malignant tumors can be prevented, 1/3 can be treated, 1/3 can be cured, the initiative to prevent cancer in the hands of each person. The American Institute for Cancer Research points out that the easiest way to prevent cancer is to eat more fruits and vegetables, which can reduce the chance of cancer by 20%, and suggests that the public should eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily (1 serving of about 85 grams), reduce the intake of animal fats, maintain a standard body weight, and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day to stop smoking and limit the use of alcohol. As long as we adhere to the first line of defense of “prevention is better than cure”, adopt a healthy lifestyle, avoid known cancer risk factors, and add the second line of defense of regular screening, it is not difficult to stay away from cancer. Myth 3: Vegetarians are not susceptible to cancer Surveys show that 24% of respondents firmly believe that vegetarians have a low risk of cancer. Research shows that people who often eat large amounts of meat and fish do have a higher risk of cancer, while vegetarians eat fruits and vegetables every day, dietary fiber intake is sufficient, the risk of colorectal cancer is lower than normal. However, long-term vegetarianism may cause nutritional imbalance. The Austrian study found that vegetarians may have an increased risk of cancer due to a low intake of animal fats, which is 2 to 2.5 times higher than meat lovers. If you want to prevent cancer, a balanced diet is especially important, do not be biased or picky about what you eat, try to take natural ingredients as the main, processed products to the limit of 1 to 2 times a week, and eat 5 servings of different colors of fruits and vegetables every day. Myth 4: Moles are more prone to skin cancer “People with many moles have a high risk of cancer.” The survey shows that 61% of middle-aged and elderly people believe in this idea. Moles are categorized into primary moles that are present at birth and moles that are generated later in life under the influence of the environment and constitution. Moles may increase during puberty and a woman’s pregnancy, and peak in middle age. Most moles are benign dark pigmented moles and are not a cause for concern. If a mole has abnormal changes in color, size, shape, etc., special attention should be paid to it, which may be manifested in the following characteristics: gradually spreading outward, with a diameter larger than 0.6 cm; peeling, bleeding, secretion, etc.; asymmetric shape, irregular and fuzzy edges; change in color from brown to black or dark blue; and growth of many small moles next to one large mole. Myth 5: Large breasts are prone to breast cancer “Large breasts are prone to breast cancer” is also a misconception of many people, but in fact, this is not scientific. Large breasts are not a risk factor for breast cancer, but family history is. Other risk factors include: early menarche, late menopause, unmarried, childless, late childbearing, not breastfeeding, etc. The majority of breast cancer cases are found in outpatient clinics. It is often found in outpatient clinics that most breast cancer patients come to the clinic only when they feel hard lumps or pain when wearing underwear, when the cancer is mostly in stage 2 or later, and may need to have their breasts removed. If detected and treated early, the cure rate of breast cancer is very high, with a 5-year survival rate of up to 95% for stage 0 to 1 cases. It is recommended that women over 45 years of age should check their own breasts every month, have regular physical checkups every year, and advance the screening age to 40 if there is a family history of the disease. Myth 6: Eating organic food can prevent cancer Selecting organic food is a new health trend in recent years. The survey found that 39% of respondents aged 50 to 59 years old believe that eating organic food can prevent cancer, while in the 13 to 19-year-old crowd, this proportion is as high as 53%. Organic food is planted or cultivated without the use of chemical pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and other unnatural drugs at all, and the safety of ingredients is high. Nowadays, organic food is mostly vegetables and fruits. A nine-year study by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom showed that there was no difference in cancer risk between women who consumed organic food over a long period of time and those who never ate organic food. To eat healthy, you need to diversify your diet, eat more local and seasonal foods, and eat a little bit of nuts every day. Myth 7: Acidic body is prone to cancer “The human body is healthy only if it is weakly alkaline”, “Acidic body is particularly susceptible to cancer” …… In recent years ” Acidic and alkaline body” has been widely spread, and has become the concept of some health care advertisements and health TV programs. Scientifically, there is no such thing as an acidic or alkaline body, it is pure nonsense. First of all, the human body has a variety of fluids, including intracellular fluid, extracellular fluid (tissue fluid, blood and lymphatic fluid), digestive system secretion of various digestive fluids, as well as sweat, urine, etc., these fluids have their own acidity and alkalinity, the so-called “body fluids” is very vague. Myth 8: Late-stage cancer is hopeless Most cancer patients are afraid of hearing that they are already in advanced stage and the cancer cells have metastasized from the primary site to the liver, lungs, bones and other parts of the body. The survey found that 46% of the respondents aged 50-59 believe that there is no salvation if the cancer is advanced. Even if cancer has metastasized, the severity varies and cannot be generalized. With advances in medicine, some cancers can still be cured even if they are found in advanced stages, such as lymphoma and testicular cancer. With the continuous breakthroughs in targeted therapy drugs, even advanced lung cancer and breast cancer can be better controlled, and the survival period can be extended by a few months or even a few years. As long as you follow the doctor’s instructions for treatment, you can hope to survive with tumor for a long time. Myth 9: Fasting can kill cancer cells Many cancer patients think that they can starve cancer cells to death by not letting them take in any nutrients, so they adopt “fasting therapy” to control cancer. According to the survey, 14% of the middle-aged respondents agreed with this view, and the proportion of people over 60 years old reached 22%. Clinically, some liver cancer patients only drank water and ate a small amount of fruits and vegetables in order to “starve to death” the cancer cells, but they were starved to death. Generally speaking, fasting cancer patients can lose 10 kilograms of body weight in a week, and the reduced immunity makes it easier for cancer cells to survive. Studies have found that sugar is the favorite food of cancer cells, and the incidence of colorectal cancer, breast cancer, endometrial cancer and other cancers are related to the love of sugar. Research at Harvard Medical School in the United States found that women who love to eat high glycemic index foods have a three times higher risk of colorectal cancer than normal people. Refined sugars and refined foods, such as sweet drinks, candies, pastries and other snacks belong to this type of food, people had better eat less. Myth 10: Radiotherapy will definitely cause hair loss According to the survey, 76% of the respondents aged 50-59 think that “receiving radiotherapy will definitely cause hair loss”. Chemotherapy drugs mainly by inhibiting the growth of cancer cells to play a role, but in the treatment at the same time will be “good and bad all kill”, so that the normal cells are damaged, especially on the hair follicle cells, germ cells and other destructive effects, such as breast cancer chemotherapy drugs are easy to cause hair loss. But some chemotherapy drugs for gastrointestinal tumors only play a role in the gastrointestinal mucosal cells, patients will not appear hair loss. In order to psychologically accept the reality of hair loss more easily, it is recommended that cancer patients with long hair be cut into short hair or small flat hair before chemotherapy.