Breast cancer online info proves to be reliable

A research conducted by the team of Houston-based scientists revealed that most of the information on breast cancer that can be found on countless websites is true to fact and accurate. The research also showed that at least one in every 20 web pages provides false or inaccurate information on the disease.

Photo: Breast cancer online info proves to be reliable

The study was initiated by the Cancer Center of the University of Texas and the School of Health Information Sciences. The researchers studied about 350 websites dedicated to breast cancer. They found 41 misleading statements on 18 of the pages.

The research also proved that the information on breast cancer which people can find on the Internet is more accurate than that related to other dangerous and widely discussed diseases.

It goes without saying that one should not rely on such information completely.

Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer (10.4%; after lung cancer) and the fifth most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, and colon cancer). Among women worldwide, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death. In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths). The number of cases worldwide has significantly increased since the 1970s, a phenomenon partly blamed on modern lifestyles in the Western world.

North American women have the highest incidence of breast cancer in the world. Among women in the U.S., breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second-most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer). Women in the U.S. have a 1 in 8 (12.5%) lifetime chance of developing invasive breast cancer and a 1 in 35 (3%) chance of breast cancer causing their death. In 2007, breast cancer was expected to cause 40,910 deaths in the U.S. (7% of cancer deaths; almost 2% of all deaths).

In the U.S., both incidence and death rates for breast cancer have been declining in the last few years. Nevertheless, a U.S. study conducted in 2005 by the Society for Women's Health Research indicated that breast cancer remains the most feared disease, even though heart disease is a much more common cause of death among women.

Because the breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females, breast cancer also occurs in males. Incidences of breast cancer in men are approximately 100 times less common than in women, but men with breast cancer are considered to have the same statistical survival rates as women.