You can't believe everything you hear or see on social media — especially when it comes to important health topics such as brain cancer.
Experts anticipate that more than 24,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with brain cancer this year. But whether you are hoping to prevent brain cancer or have a loved one with a brain tumor, getting the facts straight is critical for understanding your risk and the disease.
To get you started, we are debunking four common brain cancer myths:
Myth #1: All brain tumors are cancer
More than 1.3 million Americans are living with a brain tumor, but they don't all have cancer. A brain tumor is an abnormal mass of tissue that develops in or around the brain. Tumors form when cells don't behave as expected, sometimes growing uncontrollably, similar to weeds in a garden.
There are more than 100 different types of brain tumors, and they aren't all malignant (cancerous). In fact, approximately 74% of brain tumors are benign (non-cancerous). Benign tumors don't typically grow aggressively, destroy healthy brain tissue or spread the way malignant tumors do. However, a benign tumor growing in the confined space of your skull can still cause serious issues.
Myth #2: Cell phones cause brain cancer
Concern about the radiation given off by cell phones is not new. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the radiation emitted by a cell phone is different from the ionizing radiation we know for sure to be harmful, such as the radiation used in X-rays. Cell phones expose you to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, but no link has been established between everyday cell phone use and brain tumors.
The World Health Organization reviewed more than 60 articles published between 1994 and 2022. They found no evidence of increased brain cancer risk associated with cell phone use in either adults or children.
More recently, the Cohort Study of Mobile Phone Use and Health (COSMOS) project studied more than 250,000 cell phone users after a decade or more of cell phone use. Researchers found no increased risk of brain cancer, even in the people who used their cell phones the most.
Myth #3: Only older adults get brain cancer
The median age at diagnosis for a brain tumor is 62. While brain cancer is certainly more common in adults 40 and older, it does occur in childhood and among adults younger than 40.
Consider these facts, provided by the National Brain Tumor Society:
- In children ages 14 and younger, brain cancer is the most diagnosed solid cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death.
- In people ages 15 to 39, brain cancer is the second most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related death.
Myth #4: Brain cancer is always terminal
Aggressive types of brain cancer are often life-limiting. However, survival rates for brain cancer vary depending on many factors, such as:
- Age
- Type of brain cancer
- Location of the tumor
- Reaction to treatment
- Individual biology
Researchers continue to find new ways to fight aggressive brain tumors. Treatments that overcome the blood-brain barrier, target tumors at the molecular level and use your immune system to fight cancer can dramatically improve survival rates.
