Students and staff join rally to Debunk myths about cancer

Chandigarh, January 31, 2014: “My father is a gem of the person; he never had alcohol or tobacco, he is very religious and never hurts anybody…how can he have cancer? These are the common questions we face with a cancer patient. Each time the reply is the same - cancer has nothing to do with your nature,” says Dr Sachin Gupta, Medical Oncologist, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali. There are many other questions and panic-stricken faces - “What next?” “How long will I live?” “Would I ever lead a normal life?”
Imagine the irony when after medical tests, it is diagnosed that you never had cancer at all - a huge sigh of relief appears for sure. “Almost Half of our OPD hours go in making our patients understand that they are not patients at all,” adds Dr Gupta. Cancer is a painful experience for many, but it becomes more painful to just assume that you are suffering from it. “So, it is better to start educating young children about cancer from an early age,” he says. Senior Oncologists from Max Hospital Mohali converged at the Women’s Polytechnic auditorium to dispel myths about cancer to an audience of over 500 people. Dr Vinay Kumar, Dr Sunandan Sharma and Dr Pankaj Kumar, Dr Shaveta Gupta Consultants from the Oncology department of Max Hospital spoke on various aspects of cancer awareness.
Noble Initiative
In everyday OPD, out of 100 people, there are almost 20 patients who come assuming that they have cancer. Witnessing this trend, Max Hospital, Mohali, took the initiative to educate youngsters about cancer. Dr Gupta says, “We have collaborated with the UT Education Department to celebrate World Cancer Day here today, so that we can educate college and school students about the disease.”
The commonest myth I encounter is that ‘’You don’t need to worry about cancer if no one in your family has had it.’ said Dr Vinay Kumar. Only 5% to 10% of cancers are hereditary (passed down by a family member). The doctors shared that another common myth is that if you have a family history of cancer, you will get it too; there’s nothing you can do about it. Banishing this myth, Dr Sunandan Sharma shared, “A 23-year-old woman came to us claiming that her mother was suffering from cancer and she was scared herself. She wanted to get tested for breast cancer as she suspected she had a lump in her breast. Upon diagnosis, it was found that she was fine. So education about cancer is very important. Don’t assume, just get it diagnosed.”
CANCER MYTHS
?    All lumps are cancerous.
?    All cancers are hereditary.
?    Sugar is related with cancer growth.
?    Cancer is contagious.
?    Hair dyes cause brain cancer. Breast feeding causes cancer.
?    Wearing bras leads to cancer.
?    Physical injury leads to cancer.
?    Cancer is always fatal.
?    Nutrition microwaving food causes cancer.
?    Any surgery and biopsy will spread cancer.
Tpday, 500 school, college students and staff join rally in association with Max Hospital, Mohali rally to ‘Debunk myths about cancer’.// Chandigarh news online,  Chandigarh news in English, Chandigarh news,  Chandigarh current news,  Chandigarh news live, Chandigarh breaking news, Chandigarh headlines, Chandigarh latest news, world news,

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