1. Biopsy spreads cancer!

Fact: Biopsy is a surgical procedure to obtain tissues for diagnosing cancer. There are many ways of doing it. However when done properly by a trained surgeon/qualified person it's accurate, harmless and does not cause cancer. It's an important tool for the surgeons. However improperly performed biopsies or putting a needle through certain tumor tissues like a trans scrotal biopsy can be disastrous to the patient.

2. Cancer means no answer

Fact: This is a common myth and often patients turns dejected and feel depressed on being diagnosed with a cancer. Diagnosis of a cancer does not equals to a death sentence. In the present era the percentage of long term survivors are no less and one can find people living happily with family when they complete treatment at the right time.

Also all tumors are not the same. Some are good cancers while the rest might not be so good. A tumor can behave differently in different people. So don't get dejected if you have been diagnosed with a cancer just because you know someone having a cancer has died or someone among your kith and kin has not survived. The key to success in cancer is right time of diagnosis, right surgery done at the right time in a right way.

3. All cancers are painful

Fact: This is a common myth in minds of many patients I see in my OPDs. Many patients present late and at advanced stages. When questioned on what prompted them to remain aloof, many patients says they have ignored the lump/swelling just because it was not painful.

The truth is all cancers are not painful. Most of them are silent and painless initially and often have a rapid increase in size when neglected/remains untreated. This is when it becomes painful! A typical example is an ulcer in mouth. Often they are painless and if neglected they can invade local structures that then give rise to painful sensations. Nerve sheath tumours and bony tumours are the one commonly associated with pain.