Inside Prevention

Five Things You Should Know About Environmental Links to Breast Cancer (Forbes, 12/7/2011)

Amy Westervelt's article on Forbes.com does a great job of parsing through the intricacies of the Institute of Medicine's new report, Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approach. Here's an excerpt, including a quote from our president and CEO, Jeanne Rizzo:

In the absence of clear advice from the IOM, consumers might want to consider reducing their exposure to these chemicals. “The failure to take a precautionary approach may leave the public confused and even misinformed, as is evidenced by some of the initial media headlines about the report that say that chemicals are unproven to raise breast cancer risk, when the report itself indicated there are plausible reasons for concern,” Rizzo says.

Read the full article and share it with your networks or submit a comment.

Prevention Is Power: A different road

We've known Ann Maechtlen since 2008, the first time she signed up for Climb Against the Odds. She's one of those people who immediately, intuitively understands the Breast Cancer Fund's environmental perspective on the disease, largely because of her own cancer diagnoses. Recently interviewed by the Sacramento Bee for an article about the proliferation of pink during October, Ann shares with us here her own perspective on prevention:

Greetings from Missoula, Montana! The fall colors are beautiful and the air is crisp. I get a little sad this time every year as I say goodbye to long warm days full of friends and fun adventures outdoors and spend more time indoors with shorter colder days. My sadness lifts when the snow starts falling and I can go nordic skiing or snowshoeing.

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, also the anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis (five years) and 29 1/2 years since my Hodgkin's diagnosis. At age 22 I had cancer—back when I didn't know anyone who had ever had cancer!

Hodgkin's was a very scary disease for me, and people were afraid it was contagious. In 1982 there was no Internet, no support groups and no cancer groups waiting to help, so I was on my own. The public library was my new best friend. The first book I picked up was called, “First You Cry”—how true!

I had a doctor who believed my cancer was caused by exposure to chemicals on my family’s ranch in Southern California. That doctor planted that seed, which took many years to germinate. I found myself reading labels more and avoiding products with ingredients I couldn’t pronounce in my quest for good health.

I also noticed more and more chemicals in cosmetics and cleaners and in trying to avoid them I have found it easier to make my own.

After my breast cancer diagnosis I realized I needed to make big changes to really get healthy and get past cancer. I quit drinking alcohol, changed some other habits and did a lot of emotional healing. After completing nine months of chemotherapy I was really happy just to be alive, and I needed to celebrate!

Then the Breast Cancer Fund came into my life and I learned about the Climb Against the Odds. I knew I had to climb the mountain! I climbed Mt. Shasta in 2008, nine months after I finished chemo. I climbed again this year, thinking maybe it would be easier. No, it was still hard!

I was—and still am—thrilled that the Breast Cancer Fund is looking at prevention rather than finding a cure. Cancer has become big business…too big. I have seen enough lives torn apart and cut short from this disease; I want to see it disappear, at least back to the levels found before the 1980s.

I would like to empower people with real information and real choices in their lives to stay healthy. I see cancer groups working to support cancer patients, which is good, but how about going down a different road of no cancer?

Pink Inc. has many starting to see red (Sacramento Bee, 10/23/2011)

Pink is big in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this year is no exception. But some survivors, like two-time Climb Against the Odds team member Ann Maechtlen, are looking for something more, reports the Sacramento Bee:

Ann Maechtlen, formerly of Redding, is one who has lost faith in the bigger organizations. Years before she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she joined in walkathons like the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life to honor cancer survivors. "It was a great thing, especially in the days when people couldn't even talk about the disease," Maechtlen says.

Now, she avoids the parade of pink walkers and product promotions. She feels they trumpet a superficial notion of "awareness," even if some groups do good things with the money raised and promote great solidarity among survivors and families.

"It tugs at your heartstrings, but I can't get behind it anymore," she says. "For the most part, everyone is perpetuating the Big Business of cancer."

For survivors of breast cancer and their families, it can be very healing to contribute to group activities. After nine grueling months of chemotherapy, Maechtlen joined an organized hike to the summit of Mount Shasta, up 14,179 feet, which raised about $13,000 for the Breast Cancer Fund, a charity she believes in because of its focus on prevention and environmental-factor research. (Read complete article.)

Prevention Is Power: Through treatment, up mountains and toward a healthy future

Shiera Brady Henderson climbed Mt. Shasta this June with the Breast Cancer Fund's 2011 Climb Against the Odds team. Shiera faced the mountain with immense strength, and today, as part of our October Prevention Is Power campaign, we're happy to share with you her reflections on the power of prevention:

The feeling of ultimate power swept over me as I took the final step to reach the 14,000-foot summit of Mt. Shasta. The thin air and grueling climb that began at 2 a.m. makes breathing difficult. Yet, as I stand roped together with my four fellow climbers on top of the world, I exhale with great pride and gratitude. On this 10th anniversary of being a breast cancer survivor, I celebrate not just a milestone, but also the return of once again being in charge of my life. 

That sense of power drains from your body when you are diagnosed with breast cancer—malignant cells destroying not only your breast tissue but also your confidence and self-esteem buried deep inside your heart. How does a 39-year-old healthy mom with no family history get breast cancer? What did I do wrong? Am I going to die?

I was diagnosed with aggressive invasive ductal carcinoma. No warning, no symptoms, just confirmation that this awful disease was already leaching into my lymphatic system. I had discovered a little bump during a self-exam and although that turned out to be a cyst, the mammogram showed those suspicious-looking spots on the other breast. Suddenly, a regimen of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation controlled my life. I was no longer in charge of potty-training my two-year-old; my only job was to win the cancer battle.

How does this happen? Why does our treatment for breast cancer include terms like toxins and radiation—the very things we believe cause cancer?  Why is everyone working on a cure? Don’t we want to know why more and more of us are getting breast cancer in the first place?

Although I realized the obvious value in finding the perfect cure, I knew in my heart that the real problem lied in the cause. I started paying more attention to what I ate, the ingredients in those foods, and most importantly, what I fed my children. I had an 8-year-old daughter who now had a family history of breast cancer. I needed to do all I could to prevent cancer from being a part of her life.

Desperate to find peace and healing and to restore my health, I developed a love for the outdoors and discovered the cathartic power of hiking. I started with day hikes in the hills behind my house; soon the trails became longer and the mountains higher. The physical accomplishment of climbing tall mountains slowly began rebuilding my self-confidence. 

Along the way, I discovered the work of the Breast Cancer Fund. I knew instantly I had found the perfect partner when I learned they advocate for the elimination of preventable causes of breast cancer and they build awareness by hiking and climbing tall mountains! Detection is critical—a self-exam and mammogram undoubtedly saved my life. Ultimately, however, I want to know what caused my breast cancer. I have learned so much from this great organization that works tirelessly to educate us and to demand better public policy.

That glorious day of rediscovering myself on the Breast Cancer Fund’s Climb Against the Odds lives vividly in my mind today. It is a constant reminder of the power we have to push forward on hard days during chemotherapy, up precipitous mountains, and in our unrelenting efforts to prevent breast cancer.

Prevention Is Power this October and beyond

What does breast cancer prevention mean to you?

Maybe it means choosing fresh foods over canned because you want to avoid BPA in cans.

It could mean selecting shampoo, lotion and makeup that doesn't contain parabens, synthetic fragrance or a host of other chemicals linked to cancer.

It might also mean advocating for clean air and water in your neighborhood or city, free of toxic contaminants and pollutants.

Whatever the action you take in your daily life, at the Breast Cancer Fund we know that your act is a powerful statement in support of better health for you, your family and the people in your community.

This October, we're launching our new Prevention Is Power campaign to celebrate your powerful acts and to inspire thousands more women and men to learn what prevention means—and how it can be part of their daily lives.

Prevention is a major conceptual shift from the widely promoted—but no longer very useful—awareness framework around breast cancer. Who isn't already aware of breast cancer? It's time we move beyond awareness and start focusing on why so many women—an alarming 1 in 8—are being diagnosed with this disease.

One thing is clear: mounting scientific evidence shows that our risk of breast cancer is increased by exposures to chemicals in our everyday environment—chemicals in our food, our products, our air and our water.

The good news is you have the power to help prevent breast cancer! Join the Prevention Is Power campaign to learn how to protect yourself, your family and your friends.

Our Prevention Is Power campaign will also empower you and thousands of others to contribute to the big-picture changes we need to reduce the risk for ALL women. Together, we'll demand non-toxic products from companies and smarter laws that protect our health from elected officials.

This message of prevention is needed now more than ever. But we need your support to ensure that message is echoed throughout the country. Join with us now in the movement to transform awareness into action this Breast Cancer Prevention Month. Prevention Is Power!

Study: BPA, methylparaben block breast cancer drugs (San Francisco Chronicle, 9/13/2011)

For years, the Breast Cancer Fund has advocated to eliminate BPA (in hard plastics and can linings) and parabens (in cosmetics) from consumer products because of their links to breast cancer risk. Now we have new evidence that BPA and methylparaben not only spur normal human breast cells to behave like cancer cells, they also resist the cancer-inhibiting effects of the drug tamoxifen.

Our CEO Jeanne Rizzo spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle about this new research from California Pacific Medical Center:

Jeanne Rizzo, chief executive officer of the Breast Cancer Fund, a San Francisco advocacy group, said the study shows that BPA and methylparaben have a triggering effect when it comes to cancer. The next step, she said, has to be for consumers to demand changes that reduce environmental exposure to these chemicals.

A bill sitting on the governor's desk would ban BPA in sippy cups and baby bottles manufactured or sold in California. AB1319 was authored by Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, D-Los Angeles.

This research is sharp warning to consumer, legislators, manufacturers and researchers alike. As the Chronicle article explains:

Since most breast cancers are driven by the hormone estrogen, the bulk of the drugs used to treat breast cancer are designed to knock down estrogen. BPA and methylparaben not only mimic estrogen's ability to drive cancer, but appear to be even better than the natural hormone in bypassing the ability of drugs to treat it, [lead researcher Dr. William] Goodson said. (Read complete article.)

Breast Cancer Fund president in Fairbanks to discuss environmental risks (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 5/27/2011)

Our president and CEO, Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., is in Alaska this week to discuss the environmental links to breast cancer, as reported by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. If you're in the area, please stop by Thursday (event details in the article).

Rizzo advocates for the elimination of the environmental and other preventable causes of the disease. She said breast cancer is being seen more and more as a chronic disease, despite the fact that younger women in their 20s and 30s are contracting it.

"This is not the period of one’s life when you expect cancer to develop," Rizzo said.

Her talk will focus on what people can do to avoid the chemicals suspected of causing the disease and how they can encourage lawmakers to better regulate the chemicals. (Read complete article.)

TSCA reform advocates meet with White House officials (Greenwire, 5/19/2011)

Breast Cancer Fund staff member Nancy Buermeyer handed 73,000 petition signatures to the Obama White House this morning, all asking the President to act on last year's President's Cancer Panel report and make prevention a key component of our national cancer strategy.

Nancy wasn't alone in her errand: she was joined by our colleagues in the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, including the American Nurses Association, Greenpeace, Health Care Without Harm, League of Conservation Voters, MomsRising, Pesticide Action Network North America and the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network. Here they all are outside the White House before their meeting (Nancy is holding the bundle of petitions).

Later, Nancy had a chance to talk with Greenwire:

After the meeting, Nancy Buermeyer of the Breast Cancer Fund said it was clear the Obama administration recognized the problems posed by the way chemicals are currently regulated.

"They were very open about their support for chemical policy reform," she said.

Buermeyer said Sen. Frank Lautenberg's (D-N.J.) "Safe Chemicals Act of 2011" has provided a strong starting point for discussions on TSCA reform this year. (Read complete article; subscription required.)

Thank you, Nancy, for representing breast cancer survivors and all of us concerned about the disease! And thanks, too, to the thousands of Breast Cancer Fund supporters who signed the petition.

New bill will overhaul federal chemical policy

Aren't you tired of having to worry about which products in your home are safe and which ones may contain toxic chemicals? So are we. That's why we're thrilled to support legislation introduced today by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.

The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 would require chemical makers to prove their chemicals are safe before they are allowed in our homes, schools and workplaces.

Check out Sen. Lautenberg's video, in which he lists the Breast Cancer Fund as a supporter of the bill.

Then ask your Senators to co-sponsor this important piece of legislation.

Young survivors: Meet us in Orlando

The Breast Cancer Fund will be headed east to Orlando, Fla., next week for the annual Conference for Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer. We love going every year, but we'd be lying if we didn't say it's an emotional time for us because of the sheer numbers of young women who attend.

Almost everyone there was diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 45. Imagine: a conference of 8,000 800 to 1,000* women who are barely out of their 20s, 30s and 40s, who have kids, some who have no family history of breast cancer, many asking why them.

What's so amazing to us is how so many women there just GET what we do, get the connections between their breast cancer diagnosis and toxic chemicals in the areas they grew up in. We often hear "we had a tainted water supply" or "I remember them spraying DDT close to my childhood home." It's staggering. But enlightening and invigorating for us, seeing these walking reminders of why the Breast Cancer Fund needs to keep doing what we do.

And those who come by our booth are so thankful and almost relieved to know that there is someone working to ensure that tomorrow's young women will face a lower risk of breast cancer because of our efforts to expose and root out the environmental causes of the disease.

We'll be in booth #22, represented by our outreach expert Genevieve Roja, resident science geek Connie Engel and public policy expert Nancy Buermeyer. Come say hi, sign a petition to support safe cosmetics for all, play around on our Web site, ask lots of questions…we'd love to talk!

We're also moderating the workshop we helped organize, "The Case for a Greener World: Breast Cancer and the Environment," with one of our biggest advocates out there, Dr. Sandra Steingraber, author of the Breast Cancer Fund-commissioned report, The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls: What We Know, What We Need to Know. We're so excited to have our message reach this audience, and hope you will be too!

See you in Orlando!

*Apologies for reporting the wrong number of attendees in our original post! Corrected number posted above.