TRUTH OR LIE: THE COMMON MYTHS ABOUT WOMEN'S HEALTH & CANCER

Despite the health literacy promotion, there are still a lot of false claims about the condition of women’s health and cancer prevention that in the long term may lead to scary consequences. It is high time we debunk them and reveal the truth.

by Larysa Kozak

Background

Through centuries, a woman’s reproductive health was falsely claimed to be the most essential aspect of her general well-being and as long as she can successfully perform her reproductive function, she is “healthy”.

However, over time the tendency has shifted towards a more neutral approach in terms of female treatment, which contributed to the dispel of a lot of myths.

In spite of that, there are still a lot of stereotypes looming over women’s health for several reasons, and one of them is the deficit of clinical trials and training based on female bodies according to Asha George, professor at the University of the Western Cape.

In this article, we attempt to focus on the most common misconceptions and why they are untrue.

Myth #1 I should be primarily concerned with my reproductive organs

According to a recent survey by Columbia University, 68% of women tend to perceive their reproductive organs as more significant ones and as far as they are assured those are not threatened, they don’t apply for routine health screening for other organs.

Therefore, there are major campaigns launched by Women’s Health Associates Group to promote the motto that women should not view their general health and the condition of their reproductive function as equal matters. The female body requires regular check-ups at least once a year, no matter whether she is intended to give birth or not.

Myth 2# I shouldn’t be concerned with having heart disease as it mostly affects men.

It is a common misbelief that men have a better chance of collapsing as a result of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than women. The clinical survey shows that 42% of women experience heart attacks in their 50s in comparison with 21% of men. Even though heart issues are the leading ones among men, sadly, more women than men die from CVD every year.

Myth 3# There are not any possible ways to prevent breast cancer.

Fortunately, going through regular cancer screening and having a healthy lifestyle can help prevent some common types of cancer. Of course, there are those serious types of tumors that will inevitably lead to fatal consequences. However, such procedures as pap smears and colposcopies can help doctors detect and remove precancerous cells in the colon or cervix which can prevent you from cancer.

Myth 4#: There is no breast cancer running in my family so I am safe.

Unfortunately, every woman is at risk of having breast cancer, no matter whether any of her female family members suffered from it or not. Moreover, regular check-ups may help you discover breast cancer at an early stage. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to have an appointment with your mammalogist at least once a year, as early detection of a tumor and appropriate treatment at a time may lower your risk of dying from breast cancer by 25-30%.

Myth 5#: If I injure my breast, it can cause breast cancer.

If a woman injures her breast it may eventually lead to bruising or even excessive bleeding, however, it cannot provoke the emergence of a cancerous tumor. If a woman had a mammogram following the wounding and was diagnosed with a breast lump, it means the checkup drew attention to a lump that had already been there even before the injury.

Last but not least, it is important to specify that the new myths are gaining momentum every day, making their way through social media platforms, which makes them even harder to curb.

In conclusion, there are a lot of other stereotypes about women’s health and cancer prevention that are very common. For this reason, it is extremely important to promote health literacy at school in order to debunk those myths. It is high time we put an extra emphasis on the importance of health and cancer awareness as there are a lot of ways to prevent serious diseases, so we are capable of shifting the current conditions globally by popularizing the general information about our health and bringing more awareness towards people.