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Cancer treatment myths: Any truth to these common beliefs?
Myth: Drug companies and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are blocking or withholding new cancer treatments
Myth: Everyone with the same kind of cancer gets the same kind of treatment
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Myth: A positive attitude is all you need to beat cancer
Myth: If we can put a man on the moon, we should have cured cancer by now
Myth: Drug companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are blocking or withholding new cancer treatments
Myth: Regular checkups and today's medical technology can detect all cancer early
Myth: Undergoing cancer treatment means you can't live at home, work or go about your usual activities
Myth: Cancer is always painful
Myth: A needle biopsy can disturb cancer cells, causing them to travel to other parts of the body
Myth: Surgery causes cancer to spread
Myth: Everyone who has the same kind of cancer gets the same kind of treatment
Myth: Everyone who has cancer has to have treatment
Myth: Regular checkups and today's medical technology can detect all cancer early
Truth: Although regular medical care can indeed increase the ability to detect cancer early, it can't guarantee it. Cancer is a complicated disease, and there's no sure way to always spot it.
Routine screening has been linked to a decrease in deaths from cancers of the prostate, cervix, breast, lung, colon and rectum.