And the number one cancer myth is...

Health News Article | Reuters.com

The article states that the number myth about cancer, in the US, is that the surgical removal of a tumor can cause it to spread throughout the body.

Well ... in one case, I can prove that the myth is true, or at least the net appearance would lead you to believe it was true.

A few years back, I read an article that was talking about cancers that had metastasized, and formed tumors in a range of sizes. When the doctors operated and removed the tumors, by removing the single largest tumor, and perhaps a few lesser sized tumors, they found that tumors started growing in places where the cancer hadn't been detected. The reason they determined, was that the largest tumor had been secreting a chemical, that kept the other lesser tumors in check, growth-wise and therefore size-wise. When this inhibitory agent was removed, microscopic tumors in other places started to grow unchecked.

This would give the "appearance" that the already metastasized cancer cells had been distributed by the act of operating on the patient.