Stop Believing These 3 Cancer Myths. Here’s the Truth From an Oncologist

AS A RADIATION ONCOLOGIST IN THE SEATTLE AREA, I spend my days fighting cancer with beams, biopsies, and compassion.

But some of the toughest battles I face don’t happen in the treatment room — they happen in conversation.

Oscar Wilde once wrote,

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

Nowhere is that more evident than in what the public believes about cancer.

The Myths That Still Linger

Cancer remains one of the most feared diagnoses in the world, claiming 10 million lives globally in 2020 alone.

In the United States, nearly 2 in 5 people will hear the words “You have cancer” at some point in their lives.

It’s a disease that touches nearly every family — and yet, much of what people believe about it is outdated, oversimplified, or just plain wrong.

The word cancer doesn’t refer to a single illness.
It’s a sprawling constellation of diseases, each with its biology, behavior, and treatment.

And with that complexity comes confusion.

In this article, I’ll discuss three of the most persistent myths I hear from patients…