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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
A viral message circulating on Twitter, from a so-called emergency doctor, claims that a woman was diagnosed with breast cancer, just after her vaccination against Covid-19. A causality which however has no scientific proof, remind the experts.
Each week, its unfounded controversy linked to covid-19, or more precisely, to its vaccination. This time, it’s a viral text message shared on Twitter, between worried patients, from an anonymous emergency room worker. “Arrival of Mrs. X. 39 years old, fever. Breast cancer diagnosed and treated in six months between January and June 2022”. The SMS also mentions 4 anti-covid injection dates concerning this woman, in 12.2021, 01.2022, 03.2022 and 10.2022, accompanied by the comment of an alleged oncologist (also anonymous): “Here is exactly the type of meteoric recurrence that we have seen since the anti-covid injections, this lady is finished”.
What obviously alert many women concerned about their health. And yet, several details can prove that this message is nothing but a fake.
Errors found on the message
Before even talking about scientific evidence, several points can cast doubt on the veracity of the message. Thus, the Internet user lists the dates of 4 vaccine injections received by the patient, Mrs. X, over a period of eleven months. The first three doses were given over very short periods of one and three months. However, who has received his injections and his reminders, knows that the time to respect between two doses and the reminders is longer. According to the recommendations, it is necessary to wait between 4 to 7 weeks between the first two injections. Here the dates mentioned are too short. A not so trivial detail that seems to be an invention.
Another error mentioned by oncologists, who are surprised on the networks of this approximate message, the consequences mentioned are not those of breast cancer: “visible tumor masses: lungs liver stomach intestine” list the messagee. According to the National Cancer Institute, however, the organs affected by metastases in breast cancer are the liver, bones and lungs.
There are no more breast cancers since the start of vaccination
More serious, however, the SMS suggests that lightning diagnoses are reaching women who have had recourse to the Covid vaccination. An implication that has no scientific basis according to oncologists. Barbara Pistilli, oncologist specializing in breast cancer at the Gustave-Roussy hospital in Villejuif, affirms it in the lines of the daily newspaper 20 minutes: the incidence of breast cancer has been constantly increasing for 30 years, while the rate of mortality is gradually decreasing.
“This increase in incidence remains rather constant over time and we have no evidence of an increase in the incidence of breast cancer following the introduction of the anti-Covid-19 vaccination” she reports.
An assertion doubled by that of colleagues, in particular the oncologist Jérôme Barrière, “We do not see any acceleration of the cancers or aggravations”he argues.
⚠️⚠️ FAKE NEWS
I just received this
I’m blocked by this person so can’t reply
This is FALSE!
We do not see any acceleration of cancers or worsening
Again screenshot from unverified sources with quoted authority figure
?? pic.twitter.com/rbjvKebPJO— Dr. Jérôme BARRIERE, MD. (@barrier_dr) January 9, 2023
Possible false positives, but which are not cancers
Only one consequence on breast cancer screening seems to suffer to date from this famous vaccine: since the spring of 2021, there have been some false positive results during ultrasounds carried out after an injection, simply because vaccination can stimulate the immune system in the lymph nodes. But according to Barbara Pistili, this only happens in the days following an injection.
Moreover, “radiologists and nuclear physicians are accustomed first to asking the question about vaccination to patients who carry out examinations and are able to distinguish between a reaction lymph node and a suspect lymph node”.
The opinion of the medical director of Doctissimo
For Dr. Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo, this umpteenth attempt at turbulence is nothing new and is not based on anything:
“This is classic fake news. There is no particular reason here to think that this vaccine causes breast cancer, and in any case, a medical procedure would not trigger cancer so quickly. There is no temporality, there is nothing that fits here… To date no study shows an unusual increase in breast cancer rates” he confirms.