As oncology social workers, we know the impact of a cancer diagnosis more than most. We live it each day alongside our patients and their loved ones. Lives are changed. Fear, uncertainty, anxiety, and overwhelm set in. Life-altering decisions need to be made, often quickly. Information, support, and resources become essential.
We are living in a time when nearly 6,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer every day (American Cancer Society, 2026). We are also often in a state of information overload amid an era of growing health misinformation. Health misinformation is information that is false, inaccurate, or misleading, based on the best available evidence at the time.
While health misinformation is not new, the rapidly changing information environment has made it easier for misinformation to spread rapidly, especially on social media platforms and via search engines that use algorithms to prioritize content based on popularity or previously viewed content (Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2021a). This trend is especially concerning for individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer. They can be particularly vulnerable to misinformation for a few reasons: the emotions and stress they are experiencing from the diagnosis, the nature of being flooded with a lot of new information in a short period of time, and the need to make critical, timely decisions about their health (Farrar, 2025).
One study from the University of Florida Health Cancer Center found 93% of people newly diagnosed with cancer were exposed to at least one type of treatment-related misinformation. Of even greater concern, most patients encountered the misinformation even when they were not seeking it out. The most common sources of misinformation were close family members and friends, websites, distant relatives or contacts, social media, and news media. One researcher involved in this study noted that health care providers can assume their patients have been exposed to misinformation, whether or not they sought it out, suggesting it may be helpful to approach clinical practice with this perspective, along with knowledge of how to address it (Buletti, 2025).
Health misinformation can have serious consequences, including deterring people from seeking medical care, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. It can also cause people to make health decisions based on inaccurate information or to pursue treatments unsupported by scientific evidence or that potentially interact with standard medical care. Furthermore, patients’ relationships with their health care team can be negatively affected because of the confusion and mistrust that misinformation can create (Gordon-Dseagu & Matson, 2026).
One area of oncology care where misinformation persists is complementary therapies. Various myths exist around many of these therapies, including their ability to cure or control cancer, reduce the risk of a recurrence, and be more effective than standard medical treatment. These therapies can reinforce that “natural” must mean “safe.” There may also be confusion around what the terms “complementary,” “alternative,” and “integrative” mean (Garam, 2025; National Cancer Institute, 2024). Furthermore, research has shown that about 20% to 80% of patients do not disclose their use of these therapies to their oncologists (Davis et al., 2012).
Knowing the risks of health misinformation on many cancer-related topics, including complementary therapies, is my inspiration for writing this article. My intention is not only to highlight this issue, but to share a trustworthy breast-cancer-related resource that may help you, your medical teams, patients, and their loved ones.
At Susan G. Komen®, I work on the Health Information and Publications team, where we focus on providing safe, accurate, consistent, up-to-date information on many breast cancer-related topics in the About Breast Cancer section of komen.org. I am especially proud of our complementary and integrative therapies content, which includes information on the safety and scientific evidence of these therapies, ways to find a practitioner, and resources for talking with a health care provider about using these therapies safely. You will also find over 60 individual fact sheets, in both English and Spanish, covering a wide variety of complementary therapies that we license from TRC Healthcare. These fact sheets provide a description of each therapy, a review of its safety and effectiveness, and an outline of any interactions with other drugs, herbs, supplements, and foods. I encourage you to check out these resources and share!
I’d like to close with one thing that I have read repeatedly in the literature: we all have a responsibility to address health misinformation. As oncology social workers, I believe we can appreciate the importance of our patients and their loved ones getting the information they seek in a safe, accurate, and accessible way. We are an integral part of the conversations we have with our patients about complementary therapies they may be considering alongside their cancer treatment. We can assess each patient’s knowledge, beliefs, and values about them and share this information with our medical teams. We can listen with empathy, gently provide education and correct information when needed, and guide people to consistent, reliable resources. We can also promote health literacy and partner with organizations that share these values (Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2021b).
If you are interested in learning more about our breast cancer information and resources or the strategies we use to address health literacy, please feel free to reach out to me anytime at amy.colver04@gmail.com. I look forward to connecting with you!
References
American Cancer Society. (2026). Cancer Facts & Figures 2026. https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2026/2026-cancer-facts-and-figures.pdf.
Buletti, L. (2025). Study finds most cancer patients exposed to misinformation: UF researchers’ pilot ‘information prescription.’ https://ufhealth.org/news/2025/study-finds-most-cancer-patients-exposed-to-misinformation-uf-researchers-pilot-information-prescription.
Davis, E. L., Oh, B., Butow, P. N., Mullan, B. A., & Clarke, S. (2012). Cancer patient disclosure and patient-doctor communication of complementary and alternative medicine use: a systematic review. The oncologist, 17(11), 1475–1481. https://doi.org/10.1634/theoncologist.2012-0223.
Farrar, O. (2025). The “Wild West” of Cancer Misinformation Online. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/02/harvard-online-cancer-misinformation.
Garam, J. (2025). Alternative Cancer Treatments: Debunking the Myths. https://www.everydayhealth.com/cancer/alternative-methods-myths/.
Gordon-Dseagu, V. & Matson, L. (2026). Why trusted evidence matters in the fight against cancer misinformation. World Cancer Research Fund. https://www.wcrf.org/about-us/news-and-blogs/why-trusted-evidence-matters-in-the-fight-against-cancer-misinformation/.
National Cancer Institute. (2024). Complementary and Alternative Medicine. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam.
Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. (2021a). A Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/health-misinformation-toolkit-english.pdf.
Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. (2021b). Confronting Health Misinformation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK572169/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK572169.pdf.
