Toilet Seats Give You Cancer

Young people (aged 13–24) believe toilet seats, being fat, kissing and a kick in the balls can all give you cancer, according to research from Teenage Cancer Trust – a charity that helps young people fight cancer.

The charity is marking its 20th Anniversary in November by revealing the top 20 cancer myths believed by teenagers and young adults in the UK.  

The survey also identified eating coloured jelly babies, living near electricity pylons and keeping a mobile phone in your bra, as actions young people incorrectly believe give you cancer.

The top myth exposed is ‘we are all born with the cancer gene’, believed by over half of young people surveyed.   This is followed by the idea that ‘you are never really cured of cancer’, and ‘mobile phones cause brain tumours’ believed by well over a third of young people.  

Other myths include the belief that pregnant cancer patients pass the disease to their babies, and the fact that cancer makes your hair fall out.  

The Cancer Myths survey marks Teenage Cancer Trust’s 20th anniversary of the opening of its first specialist unit for young people with cancer at Middlesex Hospital in London - the first of its kind in the world.  

Since November 1990 the charity has gone on to fund and build a further 17 units in NHS hospitals, all designed to give young people the best chance of a positive outcome.

In this video Jameela Jamil, T4 Presenter and Teenage Cancer Trust ambassador and Amy Harding, Head of Education & Advocacy, bust some of these myths and tell us what Teenage Cancer Trust is doing to mark its 20th anniversary.

For more information visit http://www.teenagecancertrust.org/