UK youngsters think kissing or a kick in the genitals can cause cancer

SYDNEY - Many youngsters in the UK think that kissing, toilet seats or a kick in the genitals can lead to cancer, according to a study.

The poll has shed light on the various myths common among youngsters associated with cancer.

The poll of 13 to 24-year-olds for the Teenage Cancer Trust Today’s survey of 520 young people revealed the top myth as being everyone is born with the cancer gene (believed by 53 per cent).

Some 37 per cent believe people are never really cured of cancer and 36 per cent think mobile phones cause brain tumours while 35 per cent are worried about electricity pylons.

More than one in 10 (15 per cent) young people believe keeping a mobile phone in your bra causes cancer and 12 per cent think a kick in the genitals causes testicular cancer.

More than one in five (22 per cent) think the colour of your skin determines your cancer risk, 19 per cent think cancer in pregnancy is passed on to the baby and 7 per cent think only fat people get cancer.

Some 8 per cent are worried about eating coloured jellies and 6 per cent believe cancer can be caught from kissing.

“Cancer is a complex and frightening disease so it is easy to understand why such strange myths exist,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Simon Davies, of the Teenage Cancer Trust, as saying. (ANI)