Texas Oncology is an independent, physician-led practice delivering leading-edge technology and treatment options and conducting innovative research.
Texas Oncology is affiliated with several organizations to help our patients in their fight against cancer, including Texas Breast Specialists, a group of physicians including breast surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and breast radiologists, dedicated to diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders of the breast – both cancerous and benign.
According to Texas Oncology there are some common and not so common myths that need debunked when it comes to breast cancer awareness.
Fiction: I don’t have a family history of cancer, so I can’t get cancer.
Fact: You do not have to have a family history to develop breast cancer.
Fiction: Men don’t get breast cancer.
Fact: A man’s breast cancer risk is much less than a woman’s, however it can still happen.
Fiction: Mastectomy is my only option.
Fact: Options for breast cancer surgery include mastectomy or lumpectomy (partial mastectomy), also known as breast conserving surgery.
Fiction: Lumps in the breast are always signs of breast cancer. If I can’t feel lumps, I must not have cancer.
Fact: Many people associate lumps as the primary symptom of breast cancer – but it’s not the only symptom, and just because you have a lump doesn’t mean you have cancer.
Fiction: The only way to treat breast cancer is with a mastectomy.
Fact: Breast cancer treatment varies by patient and may include surgical removal of the cancer cells through mastectomy, which is complete removal of one or both breasts, or lumpectomy (partial mastectomy), the removal of the cancer and a part of normal breast tissue surrounding the tumor. Other treatments may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, proton therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or hormonal therapy, or a combination.
Fiction: Once I finish breast cancer treatment, the cancer will never come back.
Fact: Many people think that breast cancer treatments, including surgery, will permanently eliminate breast cancer cells. Once the cancer has been removed and all treatments are complete, there is still a risk of the original cancer coming back. This is called recurrence, and it depends on the patient’s age, genetics, stage, and type of breast cancer.
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