- "Cancer is a death sentence." Many cancers are curable, and most are treatable. Survival has improved steadily for decades.
- "Cancer is contagious." It is not. You cannot catch cancer from a patient.
- "A biopsy spreads the cancer." A biopsy is essential to diagnose and plan treatment; it does not spread the disease.
- "Sugar feeds cancer, so stop eating it." All cells use glucose. Cutting sugar does not starve a tumour, but cutting calories can weaken you during treatment.
- "Chemotherapy is worse than the disease." Modern anti-nausea drugs and supportive care have transformed the experience. Most patients continue normal life between cycles.
- "Only smokers get lung cancer." A large share of Indian lung-cancer patients have never smoked; air pollution matters.
- "Cancer only affects older people." Breast, cervical, blood and bone cancers frequently affect young adults and children.
- "Alternative medicine can cure cancer." No alternative therapy has been shown to cure cancer. Delaying proven treatment costs lives.
- "If I feel fine, I don’t need screening." Screening is designed to find cancer before symptoms appear — when it is most curable.
- "Cancer treatment always means hospital admission." Most chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy can be given as day-care.
Further reading: www.cancer.gov