What have you heard about cancer?

Have you heard about the website which has been created to dispel the many myths, rumours and fanciful claims about cancer?

The Cancer Council Australia website titled iheard allows people to submit myths they’ve heard about cancer and then their queries are reviewed by a team of scientists, clinical advisors, researchers and cancer prevention and support experts.

People are encouraged to post rumours they’ve heard about cancer today to mark World Cancer Day, with the aim  to give Australians accurate, evidence based answers to their cancer questions.

An example of a cancer myth posted on iheard comes from Lesley from Urraween, Queensland, who heard “women stop having routine Pap smears and mammograms at the age of 70.”

In response, Cancer Council Australia states: “All women aged between 18 and 70 who have ever been sexually active should have a Pap test every two years. The risk of cervical cancer increases with age, so it is important for women to continue cervical screening until they are at least 70.

“If women have two normal Pap test results in the five years before they turn 70, they can stop having Pap tests. While some women may choose to continue having Pap tests after 70, the risk of developing cervical cancer at this age (having had regular normal Pap tests to age 70) is minimal.”

Cancer Council chief executive, Professor Ian Olver, said while the internet was a phenomenal information resource, it was also a vehicle for unproven claims and misinformation.

“For example, just Google ‘cancer’ + ‘plastic bottles’, and more than three million hits come up,” Professor Olver said. “That’s a lot of people taking an interest in a so-called cancer risk factor that is not supported by scientific evidence.

“What causes the other cancer deaths is not fully understood, so myths and rumours fill the void. The key is to control the things you can control, according to the evidence.”

Cancer Council Australia is launching a mobile friendly version of iheard today to help Australians separate the evidence from the misinformation. Just type iheard.com.au into your browser on your mobile. An App version of iheard will also be available soon.

“World Cancer Day’s theme is ‘Cancer – Did You Know?’, with a focus on myth-busting, so it’s a timely reminder to use iheard to get the cancer facts,” Professor Olver said.

Subject to the nature of the question, the Cancer Council Australia team may answer by:

• reviewing and posting the question and answer on the iheard website;
• advising the person by email if the question has already been answered and providing a link to the answer; or
• responding by email if Cancer Council Australia feels the question cannot be answered or is inappropriate for the iheard website.

The time it takes to respond to a question will depend on the number of inquiries Cancer Council Australia have at any one time and the extent of research required to give you an evidence based response.

You will be advised  by email if they are unable to provide a response within 30 days.

Post your cancer myths on the Cancer Council Australia iheard website. Contact the iheard team for more information on iheard@cancer.org.au