One of the biggest health concerns for many women is breast cancer and yet there are several myths and facts surrounding it, so we want to you to be as informed and as healthy as possible. Sadly, our lifestyles can sometimes get a little stressful and ‘extreme’, which ultimately leads to some regular unhealthy food, drink and overall lifestyle decisions which can have an impact on our health and well-being. We tackle the various myths and facts about this serious health condition so that you can be as breast cancer aware as you possibly can.

The good news is that there are a few things in our lives that we can control, which have both a healthy and positive impact on our health and well-being, and, some of them, we can’t control. When it comes to our risk of cancer, this also applies. ‘Although there are some things we can’t control about our cancer risk, such as getting older and the genes we have inherited, we can however, help to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by making some sensible lifestyle choices, such as cutting back on alcohol units, regularly being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight. Other important factors women face that can affect a woman’s breast cancer risk, include whether to have children and when, and whether to breastfeed,’ says Jessica Harris, health information manager at Cancer Research UK.

The myths:

Deodorants: You may have heard the rumours that deodorants and antiperspirants could cause breast cancer, but these concerns were started by an email hoax. Cancer Research UK says there no convincing evidence that deodorants and antiperspirants cause breast cancer. Studies have looked in to this, in particular, a study of 1,500 women in 2002 looked for links between breast cancer and antiperspirants, the researchers found that neither deodorants nor antiperspirants increased breast cancer risks in women. And recently, researchers have found no evidence that aluminium in deodorants could increase the risk of cancer in both humans and animals.

Lumps are the only sign of breast cancer: Ladies, there are several reasons to be breast aware, and it’s not just lumps that you should be keeping your (hands) and eyes on, here are some of the signs to look for when checking your breasts; changes in size, shape or feel of your breasts, any puckering, dimpling or redness of the skin, and, any changes of nipple position on the breast. Any rashes around the nipple or nipple discharge, and in particular any pain or discomfort that’s new to you and only felt on one side. Further information is available at cancerhelp.org.uk.

Ill fitting bras: Another popular myth surrounds the bra, that if women wear ill fitting bras, they can actually cause damage to the breast tissue, and this can then increase your chances of developing breast cancer. The truth of the matter is that there’s no evidence to show that tight fitting, or under-wired bras can cause breast cancer, however, it really is best for your body to wear a correctly fitted bra.

The facts:

Alcohol: Cancer Research UK says that alcohol can affect the risk of breast cancer; even drinking small amounts can increase the risk of this disease. This is because alcohol boosts levels of oestrogen in the blood and abnormally high levels of this hormone have been linked to breast cancer cases. Large studies have found that drinking an extra unit every day (there’s two units in a medium sized glass of wine) can increase the risk of breast cancer by around 10%. To put this into perspective, if everyone drank that one extra unit per day, Cancer Research UK would see 11 extra breast cancers in every thousand women! The study showed that 11% of breast cancers in the UK are caused by alcohol. A sobering thought...
Take action: Try and cut down on your drinking and the number of units you consume. Ask yourself, do I really need this extra glass of wine?