Breast cancer myth

Patti J
Patti J Member, Dragonfly Posts: 589
edited November 2018 in General discussion
It continues to bother me that some well intentioned people perpetuate the myth that 50% of breast cancer could be avoided just by exercising. This notion makes my blood boil!
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Comments

  • Afraser
    Afraser Member Posts: 4,419
    Well it's at least more sensible than kale, turmeric or activated almonds. Being overweight may be another trigger (cause is much trickier) and exercise may help avoid that.
     
    Simple answers are always popular and often really hard to substantiate. If it were that simple, cancer would be very rare. As you say the intentions are not necessarily bad, just wanting to scare off the cancer bogeyman with a quick fix. Exercising the hand muscles to donate some money to complex cancer research might be an option to suggest. 
  • Patti J
    Patti J Member, Dragonfly Posts: 589
    This was from a supposed "professional" specialising in dealing with breast cancer patients. 
    She wasn't  impressed when I  told her that what she had said was "rubbish"!
  • Patti J
    Patti J Member, Dragonfly Posts: 589
    It was said in front of a large group.
    I am quite able to hold my tongue. What I am saying inside is another matter 😁.

  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,692
    It's a wonder she didn't say if you have ingrown toenail!  
  • Afraser
    Afraser Member Posts: 4,419
    It's a sort of inverse logic. If 100% of the population experiences stress, anger, alcohol, fatigue or potentially carcinogenic material in any quantities at all, and some of them get cancer, demonstrandum est! 
  • Annie C
    Annie C Member Posts: 853
    I was once told by my well meaning but slightly uneducated sister in law that I must have knocked my breast to have "caught" cancer. It was said in all sincerity. 
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
  • poodlejules
    poodlejules Member Posts: 393
    I overheard a woman remark that the only women who get breast cancer in Italy are nuns because the don't breastfeed ! :#
    Unbelievable and just plain stupid!!!  Would have loved to set her straight but I may have done something silly :open_mouth:
  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092
    I accept your point but want to comment that moderate exercise has been an enormous help to me dealing with side effects from hormone therapy and generally helping me deal emotionally on a daily basis with having had breast cancer and the fear of recurrence.I have never been keen on exercise in the past but I am now.I walk daily for an hour sometimes two and belong to a gentle stretch and balance class which I attend twice weekly.It has added a lot to my wellbeing.
  • Marakesh
    Marakesh Member Posts: 78
    I had a work colleague once say I wonder if you caught it due to stress at work ? I didn’t respond because I thought what a bizarre thing to say !! But it did get me wondering if I “appeared “ stressed while doing my job 🙄 
    Now I’m more bothered by all the claims about sugar . I can’t win!! 
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    I was briefly troubled by the sugar thing too @Marakesh. We can go in crazy circles over this stuff, looking for 'reasons'. The thing about sugar is that every cell in your body is fed by sugars. And whatever you put in your body will eventually be broken down into a simple sugar that your cells will use. If you don't eat processed sugar your body will breakdown other fuels, carbohydrates, protein, body fat etc. Obesity is a risk factor for BC and several other cancers, so reducing sugar intake to reduce the risk of cancer is a good thing to do. But gosh, there are plenty of very overweight people out there who never get cancer. It's risk reduction, not prevention. If only we could be more definitive about these things. Sigh. All the best, K xox
  • iserbrown
    iserbrown Member Posts: 5,692
    Lots of reasons for BC, not all are obvious and even when you are in the middle of it all they still can't give you a definitive reason as to why.  Exercise is good for all and helps cope with recuperation.  We all struggle with if you did this or didn't do this...……..there was a discussion on the ABC radio last night, Dr Darren Saunders