The internet can be a source of useful medical information, but it can also be the distributor of hoaxes and rumors, some of which are very scary.

Take a rumor that has been floating around the internet that the use of underarm antiperspirants or deodorants causes breast cancer. How can you check out such a rumor? This, by the way, is totally false.

Well, a place to start is at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov in the Hoaxes and Rumors section. The site reports on e-mail messages that allege women have died after inhaling a free perfume sample that was mailed to them. According to these e-mails the perfume sample was poisonous. These e-mails are a hoax.

Since many of these scary stories get their start in cyberspace, it’s important that you know the site you are visiting. If the site is new to you and there is frightening info posted, give us a call so we can check it out.