Virginia Beach, Virginia — it began with a simple Facebook post encouraging women to schedule their mammograms. But in the comments section, something troubling unfolded. Instead of support and encouragement, the page became a gathering place for fear, confusion, and medical misinformation. There were warnings that mammograms themselves cause breast cancer. There were claims that younger women didn’t need to worry. There were people insisting self-exams were enough, others dismissing screening entirely because they had no family history. Many comments were anonymous, but they echoed out loud fears that countless women carry quietly. Dr. Jennifer Reed, an oncology breast surgeon with Sentara Health, saw the thread and felt compelled to speak up. She knows that these myths can cost lives. In her daily practice, she sees the difference between what people believe and what science actually shows. She also sees the heartbreak when a patient arrives with a cancer that has already spread, or the relief when a tiny, treatable tumor is caught early by routine imaging. So she sat down with a local reporter, read through some of the viral comments, and patiently set the record straight, myth by myth. What follows is her message — not a lecture, but a plea from someone who has held the hands of women through biopsies, surgeries, and survivorship. It is also a reminder that breast cancer isn’t an abstract statistic; it is a disease that touches mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends. When misinformation spreads faster than medical facts, the stakes could not be higher. Reed wants women to understand that screening is not perfect, but it is powerful. It is one of the best tools we have. Social media has made many women second-guess that tool, and she wants to replace hearsay with evidence. She wants women to feel empowered, not paralyzed, when it comes to their own health. Every woman deserve answers that are grounded in science, not fear.
One of the most frightening comments claimed that “they don’t mention that one out of eight women will get cancer from a breast mammogram.” Dr. Reed could not have been quicker to correct that notion. “One in eight women get breast cancer in their lifetime, period. These are people either who had mammograms or didn’t have mammograms,” she said. The statistic that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer over the course of her lifetime has been around for decades, but it has nothing to do with mammograms causing cancer. That figure includes every woman — those who have been screened and those who have never been screened. The mammogram does not create the risk; it simply tries to detect the disease early, when treatment is most effective. Dr. Reed also addressed another persistent fears: the radiation from a mammogram is dangerous enough to cause breast cancer. She dismissed that idea outright. “When people say this, I’m like they’re not getting the cancer from a mammogram. A mammogram has such low radiation, you’re not going to get cancer from that,” she explained. Modern imaging technology uses carefully regulated, extremely low doses of radiation. In fact, the radiation exposure from a standard screening mammogram is roughly equivalent to a few months of natural background radiation we all encounter in daily life. It is a tiny fraction of what you might receive from other medical imaging procedures. And she added one more familiar myth to the list: “You’re also not getting it from your deodorant.” That rumor has circulated for years, but there is no scientific evidence linking antiperspirants or deodorants to breast cancer. The concern, though understandable, is not supported by research. Dr. Reed wants women to understand that screening tools are not enemy; cancer is.
Another commenter wrote: “I’m under 50, so I don’t need to worry about breast cancer yet.” Dr. Reed paused at that one, because it reflects a dangerous assumption she hears far too often. “Unfortunately, our younger women less than 50, that is the one age group where the incidence of breast cancer is going slightly higher each year. I think it’s about 1.4% each year it’s increasing. We’re seeing the same thing in colon cancer;the ages are getting younger.” Breast cancer is no longer a disease that only affects grandmothers and aunts. Dr. Reed has treated patients in their twenties, and she remembers each one vividly. “Have I seen 20-year-olds that have breast cancer? Yeah, I have,” she said. “Those are the ones that break your heart when you see them because you just want to help them so much and hope to see them live a long life. I’ve had 26-year-olds that got breast cancer. How did they find it? Normally in the shower washing themselves.” That is why she recommends that women begin performing regular breast self-exams in their twenties,not because self-exams alone are enough, but because knowing your own body is an important first step. Another commenter argued that “a self-examination is enough to check for breast cancer.” Dr. Reed gently disagreed. “So, self-examination is good,” she said. “But it’s not enough. Unfortunately, when you normally catch a mass on self-exam, it’s significantly larger than if you had caught it when it was on mammogram. You can generally pick something up that’s about one centimeter or less on mammogram, but when you talk about doing a self-exam, normally it’s about two centimeters.” A self-exam can only find a lump that is large enough to be felt, and by that point, the cancer may have been growing for years. For women with dense breast tissue or larger breasts, the problem is even greater. “Unfortunately for the girls with large breasts it’s way back there inside that breast tissue, you may never feel it,” Reed said. Self-exams matter, but they cannot replace imaging. They are one piece of a larger picture, not the whole picture.
Another common myth emerged in the comment thread:people without a family history of breast cancer don’t need a mammogram. Dr. Reed shook her head at that one, because she treats women every week who never expected to hear they had cancer. “80% of patients who have or develop breast cancer don’t have a family history,” she said. Only about 15 to 20 percent of breast cancers are linked to inherited gene mutations or strong family patterns. That means the vast majority of women diagnosed each year have no known family history of the disease. They may not carry a breast cancer gene, but they can still develop breast cancer because of other factors — hormones, environment, age, or simply biology we do not yet fully understand. “So, there are about 15 to 20% of breast cancers that we call hereditary or familial, everyone in the family seems to get it,but we haven’t quite found the gene yet,” Dr. Reed explained. “Or maybe they’re just predisposed or they lived in an area that there was a problem.” But she also made the point personal:“You really have to sit there and think about this. 80% of people,that means, you know,it was like the majority of the people who walk around and say,ah,I don’t have a family history.I need a mammogram.” The absence of family history does not make a woman immune. It simply means she shouldn’t assume she has a free pass. Another commenter suggested using thermography as an alternative to mammograms. Dr. Reed acknowledged that some people like thermography, but she made it clear that it is not a proven replacement. “It’s a modality that some people like to use,but it is not tried and true. We know mammograms are tried and true. We actually have the long-term data on mammograms that it improves your survival, improves your outcomes, whereas with thermography, yeah,sometimes they call you,say you have breast cancer and you really don’t. Sometimes they say you don’t have breast cancer and you actually do.” A test that can produce false reassurance or needless alarm is not a substitute for a tool that has been shown to save lives.
Another commenter seemed to be looking for any excuse to avoid screening, writing:“My breasts are too big or too small for me mammogram machine.”Dr. Reed smiled at that, because it’s a worry she has heard many times — and it simply isn’t true.“There is no such thing as too big or too small on a mammogram machine,” she said. Sometimes women with very large breasts need a little extra care and patience. Reed explained: “Sometimes if you do have very large breasts, they do have to take two images across as opposed to just one image or two images up and down. With small breasts, they will still pull [them] in there.” Mammography machines are designed by skilled technologists who work with all body types every single day. They adjust the equipment, adjust positioning, and do whatever it takes to get the best possible image. It may be uncomfortable for a few seconds, but that temporary discomfort is nothing compared toeth treat cancer. The idea that a body is too big or too small for a mammogram is another myth that can quietly keep women away from life-saving screening. No body type is too challenging for a well-trained imaging team. The only bad mammogram is the one that never happens.
Dr. Reed’s final message to women everywhere is direct, and it echoes what the American Cancer Society has long advocation: don’t skip the mammogram. Please, no. Don’t skip the mammogram. She says it again because she knowsthat in an age of endless scrolling and conflicting headlines, medical facts can feel hard to hold onto. But the evidence is clear:mammograms save lives. They have been proven to reduce deaths from breast cancer by catching tumors before they can be felt, before they can spread, before they become far more dangerous. “We know mammograms are tried and true,” she reminds us. “We actually have the long-term data.” It is normal to be nervous before a mammogram. It can be awkward, cold, uncomfortable, and anxiety-provoking. But it is also an act of self-care, one of the most powerful steps a woman can take for her own future. Bring a friend. Talk to your doctor. Ask questions. If a comment on social media makes you scared, research the facts, call a trusted physician, or speak with someone who has walked the path. Do not let anonymous strangers online make a choice that could affect the rest of your life. Dr. Reed has seen too many women delay screening because they listened to the wrong voices, and she does not want you to become another story of regret. Mammograms are not about finding every cancer with perfect certainty; they are about giving women their best chance. They are about catching the disease early enough that treatment can be kinder and life can go on. The test takes minutes, but the peace of mind — or the early warning —can last a lifetime. So schedule that appointment. Make the phone call. Put yourself on that list of women who show up for themselves. Because you are worth it, and no Facebook comment should ever tell you otherwise.