Busting the 12 biggest cancer myths

Experts at the world's largest oncology conference have warned of increasing online misinformation. Here, Hanna Geissler gets to the truth

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With dodgy cancer advice more readily available than ever, we've recruited three experts to bust 12 common cancer myths.

CAUSES

1 Sugar The best medical myths contain a grain of truth. The idea that sugar “feeds” cancer is based on the fact that cancer cells require glucose, a type of sugar, for energy.

Glucose is also the basic fuel that powers every one of our cells.

Richard Simcock, Macmillan Cancer Support’s chief medical officer, says: "Whether sugar causes cancer is probably one of the top 10 questions I get asked. The answer is: definitely not. Your body needs sugar in different forms so you cannot stop sugar going selectively to cancers. We know obesity is a risk factor, so wed advise cutting down on sugar to be healthy, but eliminating sugar from your diet altogether is not going to stop you from getting cancer."

2 Artificial sweeteners The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified aspartame, a sweetener commonly used in diet fizzy drinks, as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” - meaning having the potential to produce cancer. However, this only means there is limited evidence of a potential link.