Common breast & pancreatic cancers are mislabeled as aggressive when, in fact, they are often not malignant at all. The truth is, most tumors themselves are not fatal.

In an unprecedented declaration, a panel of experts commissioned by the National Cancer Institute have announced that a number of health conditions have been overzealously diagnosed—and subsequently mistreated—as forms of cancer are in fact not malignant at all.

More simply, common breast and prostate screening tissue abnormalities been misidentified as potentially lethal cancers, which had they been left undiagnosed or untreated would in a likelihood never have caused harm to the patient at all.

Even worse: These non-cancerous ‘lesions’ then are often blasted with radiation and chemotherapy, two common forms of cancer treatment known to actually increase cells’ malignancy by enriching the cancer stem cells at the root of cancer malignancy (a process described in the book Cancer Killers: The Cause is the Cure).

For women and men, if you are in a position of looking down the barrel of a breast or prostate cancer diagnosis, consider these two commonly-mistaken conditions before proceeding with cancer treatment. It’s possible you’ve been misdiagnosed. Furthermore, the following conditions highlighted by the American Cancer Institute CAN be lead to cancer if nothing is done, or if and when cancer treatment begins.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

According to the Mayo Clinic, DCIS is “the presence of abnormal cells inside a milk duct in the breast.” This is a very common occurrence, accounting for 1 in 5 breast cancer diagnoses, or roughly 60,000 women per year. Thankfully, many cancer specialists are starting to catch on and recommending lifestyle changes and monitoring rather than the express lane to chemo and radiation.

Other breast cancer misdiagnoses

Inflammatory breast diseases, like mastitis and fibrocystic breast disease are often mistaken for cancer.

High-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN).

The American Cancer Society defines this condition as abnormal cells found in the prostate gland, but that are not necessarily migrating to other areas of the prostate. This is an interesting one, because it isn’t even related to cancer (i.e., it does not progress to uncontrolled cell growth). The reason the cancer alarm bells go off when doctors find this is that many removed prostate glands also have HGPIN cells in them, leading people to believe there is a correlation. There may very well be. But nevertheless, HGPIN is not cancer.

Other types of common cancer misdiagnoses

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and ulcerative colitis have been known to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Patients with lung diseases like bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and even lung infections are diagnosed with cancer relatively often.

And perhaps the scariest of cancers, pancreatic cancer, is often mistakenly attributed to the symptoms of pancreatitis, diabetes and irritable bowel diseases.

This is why they tell you to get a second opinion.

Furthermore, you could avoid any of these diseases by honoring the laws of epigenetics. This new science is showing us that you’re not destined to get a breast cancer, or a prostate cancer diagnosis. Yes, you have those genes, but you only turn them on when you’re making certain lifestyle choices. So live a healthy lifestyle. Simply put, that means:

-Avoid toxins in your home if at all possible, including mold, asbestos, etc.

-Avoid toxins in your food, including pesticides, GMOs, hormones and antibiotics.

-Get exercise.

-Minimize stress.

These are the keys to healthy living, and the way to avoid cancer diagnoses, real or imagined.