Myth: Breast cancer kills more women than any other cancer.

Truth: Lung cancer kills more women than breast cancer — an estimated 72,130 American deaths in 2006, compared with an estimated 40,970 from breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. (Skin cancer, however, is the most common cancer.) The mortality rate for breast cancer has decreased. Today doctors see the majority of cancers earlier, when they’re more treatable.
What It Means for You: Your chances of surviving depend in large part on the stage at which the cancer is discovered. Regular breast exams and mammograms help catch the disease while it’s still treatable. But it’s just as important to be vigilant about factors, such as smoking and exposure to the sun, that contribute to other common cancers.

Myth: Anyone who is diagnosed with breast cancer will have to have chemotherapy.

Truth: Chemotherapy may not be needed. Certain types of breast cancer are treated with surgery or radiation, followed by hormone therapy. “Breast cancer isn’t just one disease,” says Nancy Lin, M.D., an instructor at the Harvard Medical School and an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston. “We call them all breast cancer, but different types respond very differently to treatments.”
What It Means for You: Early detection generally means there’s less of a chance that you’ll need chemotherapy. But if it is part of your treatment, that doesn’t necessarily mean the cancer is advanced. Chemotherapy can rid the body of cancer early on or, in a more advanced stage, improve quality of life by keeping the disease from spreading.