Cancer misinformation spreads farther and faster than accurate information on social media, through public posts, by word of mouth, and private messages. This harmful content includes claims that are not supported by current scientific consensus. Cancer treatment misinformation includes false, exaggerated, or misleading claims about cancer treatments and cures.
Treatment-related posts contain more misinformation than posts about other cancer issues. When patients receive a cancer diagnosis, they and their support network are often subjected to unsolicited advice from individuals as well as social media platforms. Research has indicated that social media posts about cancer contain between 30% to 80% misinformation.
Cancer treatment misinformation harms the psychological health of cancer patients and their supporters by escalating stress and self-doubt, and even regret for some previous decisions. Social support can be disrupted if patients abandon relationships to avoid exposure to cancer misinformation.
Patients' physical health can be damaged by misinformation if they abandon evidence-based care for untested treatments found on social media. Evidence shows that doing so may double the risk of death.
Conversely, correcting misinformation could significantly improve survival rates, increasing them more than fivefold for some cancers.
Patients are particularly susceptible to misinformation when they are experiencing stress and despair, and when cancer recurs, advances, or is not responding to recommended treatment.
Would you recognize cancer misinformation? Test your knowledge with our fact or fiction quiz.
Fiction. In November 2024, former cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu claimed that his wife beat stage-4 cancer through dietary and lifestyle changes including these substances. He emphasized avoiding sugar and carbohydrates and practicing intermittent fasting. Sidhu received more than 2 million likes, but his claims received quick rebuttals from almost 300 oncologists (cancer specialists), urging people not to delay treatment by following unproven remedies.
Fiction. The chance is extremely low that these procedures will cause cancer to spread to other parts of the body. Surgeons take extensive measures to prevent cancer cells from spreading during a biopsy or surgery. For example, if they remove tissue from more than one part of the body they use different surgical tools for each area.
Fact. The most reliable research to date has found no evidence linking the chemicals found in these products to any changes in breast tissue. You can read more about it here.
Fiction. Although cancer cells consume more sugar than normal cells, no studies have linked eating sugar with increased cancer risk. There's no evidence that if you stop eating sugar your cancer will shrink or disappear. A high-sugar diet can contribute to overweight and obesity, which are associated with increased risk of developing several types of cancer. You can read more about obesity and cancer here.
Before using any of the information you found on websites or social media discuss it with your primary care provider or oncologist. Don't alter your current treatments as prescribed by your healthcare team.