The myths of cancer

Part one of a three-part series

I am afraid of cancer.

More than heart disease -- that other biggie that has some good odds of getting me in the end -- cancer is one big ole scary mystery to me. It seems so insidious. I would rather wake up in a bed writhing with snarky snakes than confront the Big C.

I have good reason to fear it. Cancer is now the leading cause of deaths for Americans who are under 85, surpassing heart disease for the first time. The American Cancer Society's 2005 annual report estimated that there will be 1,373,000 new cases of cancer this year with almost half that number resulting in death.

The best way to deal with a fear is to face into it. So this week, I begin by seeing if there are any myths about cancer I can disabuse myself of.

Let's start with this top seeded cancer myth.

Myth No. 1: The Cancer Personality

This one has been around for a long time. Emotionally repressed folks are especially suspect for being more prone to cancer. Perhaps this comes from the idea that people who stoically hold in their emotions are being eaten away by these emotions from within. A recent issue of The Lancet surveyed 70 studies on the impact of psychological factors on cancer and concluded that there was no convincing evidence that these personality traits contributed to cancer development. However, they couldn't dismiss findings that suggest the personalities that are repressed and vulnerable to feelings of helplessness are more likely to contribute to an unfavorable prognosis.

Myth No. 2: Stress can bring it on

The myth goes something like this: We are genetically programmed to have a susceptibility for certain cancers. When we encounter the kind of stress that puts us over the edge, it triggers these lethal genes to start doing their thing.

I have to say, this one makes a lot of intuitive sense to me. Yet, The Lancet's review came to a very different conclusion: "Cancer patients who attributed having cancer to psychological factors are more distressed and less hopeful than other patients."

There is, after all, this important point to consider. Doo doo happens. None of us are immune from stress on the job, at home, just driving down the street. Tearing out your hair over all of those Big Mac Attacks may leave you with a decimated head of hair and a big load of unhealthy guilt, but it will not cause cancer.

Myth No. 3: Cancer is a death sentence

People survive cancer every day, we all know that. But don't many of us secretly think "game over" when we hear that ugly word? We need to remember that fully two thirds of cancers are preventable by life style changes!

One third of cancers are caused by smoking. Obesity and lack of physical activity can account for another third of fatal cancers. And you all know what you can do to deactivate those odds.

And don't forget about screening tests. If you have a family history of cancer, it is important to know about it so you can be especially vigilant about getting the proper tests. According to Health News (February, 2006), pap tests have reduced the death rate of cervical cancer by 70 percent in the United States, colonoscopies can prevent more than half of deaths from colon cancer and mammographs can prevent up to one-third of breast cancer deaths.

In the next two weeks, I will explore the many things that we can do to prevent the emergence of cancer in our lives and, if it should sneak in the back door uninvited, what we can do to effectively deal with it.

Dr. Michael O.L. Seabaugh, a Cape Girardeau native, is a clinical psychologist who lives and works in Santa Barbara, Calif. Contact him at mseabaugh@semissourian.com.