Unfortunately, most people are severely misinformed when it comes to this ailment. An article in The Guardian discusses how there are still some common myths that circle around society regarding cancer and its treatments. Most of these myths can be dispelled quickly and take little toll on people's safety, but there are a few that need to be debunked.

The first rumor that Douglas O'Coyne Jr. wants to bust is that cancer rates are increasing. While this is somewhat true, the cause needs to be clarified. Each year, more people are living to longer ages. Age is one of the biggest factors when it comes to cancer diagnoses, so it is no wonder that rates are increasing. To combat these statistics, survival rates are also increasing significantly due to effective techniques and procedures.

Another myth that has been popularized since the 1990s is that sharks do not get cancer. Since the rumor's inception, there has been an 80 percent decrease in shark populations around North America. Over 200,000 sharks are being killed and harvested each month because there are people that believe that they can derive a cancer-treating pill from their cartilage. The sad fact is that all multicellular organisms can be diagnosed with cancer.

Contrary to popular belief, cancer is not a modern disease. Breast cancer has a history that traces back to the time of the ancient Egyptians in 3000 BC. Greek physician Hippocrates dubbed the disease its current name of "cancer" in 400 BC because of tumors' resemblance to crab legs. Cancer is historical and many people falsely believe that it was modern society's own doing that brought the illness. The truth of the matter is that cancer has unfortunately been around a long time.

Douglas O'Coyne Jr.'s next myth to debunk is that radiotherapy and chemotherapy are actually harmful to patients. While these treatments do attack DNA, they do so strategically in a way to destroy tumors. Radiotherapy blasts the tissue surrounding cancerous tumors, which prevents them from accumulating and repairing themselves. The destruction of this tissue prevents the tumors from spreading to other vital organs. While radiotherapy and chemotherapy do indeed damage parts of the body, they are not "poisoning" them as some people claim.

"Lack of knowledge around cancer is only perpetuating, especially in regards to treatments. People are claiming that radiotherapy is extremely harmful for cancer patients and are instead promoting alternative treatments. The truth is that these procedures were designed to eliminate tumors with the least amount of damage. Until there is a cure-all pill, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the best tools we have against cancer," claims Douglas O'Coyne Jr.

ABOUT:Douglas O'Coyne Jr. works at Myriad Genetics as an Account Executive. This company helps create testing equipment to assist healthcare providers assess their patients' cancer risks. Before working at Myriad Genetics, Douglas was an authorized agent with Aflac. He also worked as a Supervisor of Network Operations with Qwest, where he was in charge of managing a 17-person installation and maintenance team.