Myths about Cancer

THE MYTHS ABOUT CANCER

A few days ago, I received a comment and a review (from the same person) on my facebook blog, stating that I didn’t have cancer, that I am a scam artist, and that I’m mentally ill.

First things first, I never asked for money for myself. I occasionally try to raise money for donations for various lung cancer organizations such as go2fundation or lcrf. I am passionate about raising money for lung cancer charities because they not only raise awareness, but they indirectly help cancer patients, by funding cancer research. Lung cancer is one of the least funded cancers, even though it has one of the highest mortality rates, and way more people get it than other types of cancer.

Anyway, I took it that he was just unaware about the truth of cancer. There are so many myths that people falsely believe about cancer due to the media. Also, sometimes, they have a family member who died from a certain type of cancer, so they mistakenly believe all people with cancer will have the same symptoms.

MYTHBUSTING TIME

Cancer is an umbrella term, used to describe a condition where a mutated cell uncontrollably, thus causing a tumor. However, different types of cancers cause different symptoms, mortality rates, and life span.

Let’s first talk about different symptoms. There is a popular myth that if you have cancer, you will lose all of your hair. This is not true. I did not lose my hair, and I know multiple people who did not lose the hair either. Losing hair depends on multiple factors. One factor is the type of chemotherapy. . All chemotherapy drugs are not the same. Some chemotherapy drugs have a higher rate of losing your hair compared to other chemotherapy drugs. I believe my doctor said the chance of me losing my hair would be 50%. So it was like basically flipping a coin. When I started chemotherapy, I fully believed all my hair would be gone. I went and got a wig and everything, which was dark brown and shorter than my original hair.. I would envision myself in various places with that haircut. However, the wig still remains unused. My hair thinned, but I retained the majority of it.

Also, if the person does another treatment that is not chemotherapy, such as immunotherapy(trains the immune system to kill cancer cells) or targeted therapy(treatment that ONLY kills cancer cells based on various factors). They will not lose their hair, because that’s not one of the side effects.

Another myth is that the person has to look sickly. We all have the image of a bald person, dying in a hospital bed with only months to live. While this happens with some people, and my heart hurts for them, not all cancer is like this. Sometimes, you can’t even tell a person has cancer from their energetic lifestyle. Another thing is that some cancer is chronic. This means they will never be cancer free. Even if they are NED (aka no “evidence of disease”, which is different from cured), they still have to do treatment for the rest of their life. It’s sort of like living with diabetes. You get diagnosed, you take medicine, and you live your life. I know many people who are living with cancer for 10+ years, because they have the chronic type, and they are thriving.

I’ll give you three examples

Bob: Bob has stage 4 brain cancer. He is very sickly, nauseous, and frail. He also has chronic, painful migraines. He lost all his hair from his treatments. He is living in hospice, and he ends up dying in three months.

Luna: Luna has stage 4 lung adenocarcinoma, despite never smoking a cigarette in her life. Despite this, she keeps active in her community by working a part time job, reading, and doing yoga. She still has hair because she takes targeted therapy, in the form of a pill, every day. She has had cancer for five years.

Ava: Ava also has stage 4 adenocarcinoma. Her hair has grown back from chemotherapy, and she is now on immunotherapy.. However, her tumor presses on a nerve, which causes pain, and she has more severe symptoms from the immunotherapy treatment. She takes oxycodone and morphine for her pain. However, she takes it as directed and you can’t tell she’s on any sort of opiate. She is currently on disability, but volunteers at her church occasionally. She has been living with cancer for 3 years.

See how each person is different. Every person with cancer is unique, even if they have the same kind of cancer. They all have a unique story to tell, and no two are alike.

Blaming someone of being a fake can be extremely distressing. Even if the person looks fine, they may be experiencing pain, anxiety, or other treatment related side effects. These people have to live and manage their symptoms for the rest of their life. The idea of one’s mortality is extremely common, and numerous cancer patients suffer this. Also, some cancers cause pain, which is not readily visible to the naked eye. Long story short, and I’m going to be blunt about this, but blaming someone for being a fake cancer patient is a jerk move.

This can cause extreme distress for some people. When this happened to me, it felt like I was being stabbed in my soul. It was like all my symptoms I have (depression, anxiety, pain, and diarrhea) and my lifestyle/ dietary changes (less sugar and creamy foods), were being discredited.

Don’t be a jerk. If someone tells you they have cancer, I can assure you, they do. I’m sure most people don’t go around saying they have cancer for the fun of it, or even for money. I know this happens sometimes, but this is VERY rare. Remember, everyone is a sentient being with emotions. They deserve respect.

As for my proof that I have cancer, here is one of my medications I used to take (I stopped taking it because it stopped working and now I’m on immunotherapy). It is around $16,000 a bottle, and can only be ordered by a doctor.

Anyway, I’m glad you read to the end. I hope that you gained more insight, and that you have a blessed day. God speed.