Inside Prevention

Congress Talks Phthalates

An important piece of legislation is moving through Congress that would ban toxic phthalates from children’s toys and childcare articles. Phthalates (pronounced “THA-lates”) are chemicals used in many soft, plastic toys like rubber ducks, teething rings and bath books that can leech out of these toys when children chew on them. Scientists have linked phthalates to early onset of puberty in girls (a risk factor for breast cancer) and birth defects in baby boys. Safe alternatives exist. So, it would seem like a no-brainer that Congress would pass this legislation, right?

We hope so.

Right now, a small, bi-partisan Congressional Conference Committee made up of members of the Senate and House is finalizing the legislation—known as the Consumer Product Safety bill. Their job is to reconcile the Senate version of the legislation—which includes a ban toxic phthalates from children’s toys and childcare articles—and the House version—which does not. The House members have a historic opportunity here to support their colleagues in the Senate and vote to include the phthalates ban and, in so doing, protect all kids from these dangerous chemicals.

Enacting this ban on phthalates in kids’ toys is far from a radical move. California and Washington State have already enacted the ban, as has the European Union and 14 other countries. So isn’t it time our U.S. Congress do the same? If you agree, tell them.

Climb Against the Odds... 4 weeks to Mt. Shasta

A weekly blog post from 2008 climber and breast cancer survivor Connie Bates of San Jose, Calif.

Connie Bates - May 16, 2008, 4 weeks to Mt. Shasta

The first time I met many of my fellow climbers was at the Breast Cancer Fund office in San Francisco where we gathered for Strong Voices training.  Strong Voices taught us about the environmental and chemical threats that BCF is working to eliminate and gave us the tools we needed to better explain these risks to others.

I was appalled to learn that the ingredients in our cosmetics and personal care products, such as deodorant, lotion, shampoo, etc., are NOT regulated for safety. There are some chemicals being used in the U.S. that have been banned in both Europe and Japan.  I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t the only person who went online as soon as they got home, and checked out my personal products on the Skin Deep Report at www.safecosmetics.org to make sure they were OK.

Strong Voices training is also the first time I heard about the legendary Dipsea Steps.  Located in Mill Valley in a lush, green setting, the Dipsea Steps consist of three sets of steps, 672 steps total.  Last weekend, our training leader, Peter, planned a training hike in Mill Valley to include the steps. We met Saturday morning: me, Peter, and Margaret, my co-climber from Santa Cruz. Margaret and I were excited and a little nervous as this was our first venture up the Steps.  We loaded our training packs with about 25 pounds, and set off.  We ended up having a great day of training; we did the steps twice and also hiked an additional ten miles on the nearby Dipsea Trail. Boy, were my calves burning the next day.  But it was definitely worth it to be able to say I had done the Dipsea Steps!

By the way, I just wanted to show you a picture from our Mountaineering training on Shasta. That’s me in the middle with the red parka during one of the few moments that we weren’t sliding down the mountain head first. Well thanks for checking in with me, hope to talk with you again next week!

View photos from Climb Against the Odds 2008 training hikes and watch YouTube interviews with the Climb Against the Odds team.

Climb Against the Odds 2008... Just 5 Weeks to Mt. Shasta

From June 15-21, a team of 33 breast cancer survivors and supporters from across the country will come together at Northern California's Mt. Shasta in a collective effort to prevent breast cancer and to overcome their personal experiences with the disease.  Our extraordinary Climb Against the Odds team of women and men, ranging in age from 15 to 65, have all been touch by this disease and have committed to six months of intensive training and fundraising.

As the expedition approaches, we wanted to introduce the Breast Cancer Fund community to the experiences of a climber.  Connie Bates of San Jose, Calif., a breast cancer survivor, will be blogging on Not My Breasts once a week to give everyone the inside story on her experiences with training and eventually climbing a 14,000-foot mountain for breast cancer prevention.

Connie Bates - May 9, 2008, 5 weeks to Mt. Shasta

When I was asked to blog about my Mt. Shasta training and climbing experience, I said sure, no problem. I never imagined that surviving breast cancer would lead me to climb a 14,000 foot mountain, but it did and I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with you.  For me it all started with a diagnosis of breast cancer when I was 43.  Suddenly, I could no longer check off “NO” for all the medical questions on those countless doctor and insurance forms. My diagnosis of breast cancer seemed to define who I was, and I didn’t like it. When I heard about the BCF’s Climb against the Odds, I was immediately drawn to the extreme challenge of scaling an ice and snow-covered mountain.

Training is intense, and has gotten tougher over the past month. Last weekend, we did our ice training up at Shasta. Had to learn how to self arrest if we fell on a slope and started sliding downhill. No problem. Fall on your butt, slide, use your ice axe to self arrest, and stop. Ok, so my first time I slid almost to the bottom, but I did stop. After mastering the basics, we graduated to falling on our faces and sliding down the slope on our stomachs. Not a very natural-feeling position. Nine other members of our Climb against the Odds climbing team did the training as well. It was pretty cool to actually be on Shasta.  Realizing we were going to be back in just six weeks made the whole thing real for me. And wow did Shasta look larger in person than I’d imagined!

That night, we went to a local restaurant for some home-cooked Mexican food and margaritas. Yum! That’s one of the great things about training, you burn a lot of calories. Kind of allows you to eat and drink whatever you want.  On Sunday, we headed up to Castle Crag for a hike. Our pace was brisk as we climbed from 4,000 to 6,500 ft, carefully making our way up boulders and rock falls as we got closer to the top.  The panoramic views at the top were both amazing and humbling. All in all, a pretty good weekend!

View photos from Climb Against the Odds 2008 training hikes and watch YouTube interviews with the Climb Against the Odds team.