For anyone who may be interested in this sort of thing.
The mighty Cornell University in NYC are home to the BCEF - Breast Cancer and Environmental Factors program.
Follow the link and you will find a mountain of elegant and intelligently balanced accessible and unpatronising fact sheets (no claims of "myth busting") with recommendations for future research programs along with a mountain of data and phenomenal bibliographies.
Thanks Molly , This sounds like just the thing ive been looking for (unpatronising facts) everything else was begining to sound like a broken record., thanks for the link. Take care Lindiloo
It's an excellent project - I hope it proves interesting/useful to you.
I think Yanks are way ahead on this stuff - a lot more joined-up and lateral thinking. And prolific too! I find the prevailing British attitude of "unproven = irrelevant" incredibly annoying (and I think it will prove to be self defeating in the long run). The American attitude of "We don't know yet - let's investigate some more" very refreshing.
A doctor friend of mine is always griping that the research establishment spends so much time peering down microscopes that it risks missing the bigger picture.
Look how long it took for the world to wake up over cigarettes and asbestos.
I totaly agree with you molly, i cant believe that these issues have not been studied seriously at all here, all inital findings re chemicals/enviroment seems to have been put on the back burner here in the uk and not followed up on at all. Why? I suppose the cynic in me says if proof or blame is found Major Lawsuits. Apart from the fact that pharmacuietical companies make billions out of cancer.Sorry if i sound bitter, but there it is.
I was shocked to read that cosmetic companies like Avon have refused to sign up to the safe cosmetics campaign, but like you pointed out on an privious thread they help fund breakthrough , so are their intensions genuine? or is it they wont sign because they are not that sure of their products safety i cant see no other explanation. We are now being told that we can expect cancer to rise by 20% over the next 10 yrs Why? the explanations we are given are, ealier screening ?,people being more awear of symptoms?blah blah, from everything ive ever read the majority of cancers especially breast cancer is found by the women herself. Everthing we buy these days is loaded with chemicals, hell even the water we drink. I agree with your doctor friend too, eventually when and if they ever find a cause it would have proberly been stareing them in the face all along I think in years to come society will look back at the chemical overload we have all been exposed to with horror.. Off to email Avon for their response and MP while im at it. Rant over lol All the best x
Those of you concerned about chemicals and breast cancer might want to look at the No More Breast Cancer Campaign website.
Personally I think there's a lot of hysteria about 'chemicals' (ie the 'chemicals bad', 'natural good' common sense dichotomy) and personally I don't think the breakthrough link with breast cancer will be found in this area but I know for many women campaigning on this issue is a real mission.
I don't like cosmetics corporate sponsorship of breast cancer charities particularly because I think it just done to boost their profits..'they' probably don't care much about breast cancer one way or another.
I think the British media make it very difficult for this subject to be handled with maturity - knee-jerk responses to every halfarsed piece of research - which is why the US approach is so refreshing. And the researchers do the subject no favours either - bad research which gains high profile is worse than no research at all in my opinion. Not very keen on the word "hysteria" - although I do know exactly what you mean Jane. Hysteria always seems to be used in the context of women. I would be delighted to discover that there are absolutely no environmental factors which influence cancer but until serious, focused investigation has completely ruled it out I remain wary.
Lindiloo - lawsuits? You bet - look at how the tobacco industry is running scared. Before cracking off your angry emails it is worth remembering that we are protected by EU rules which obligate manufacturers to behave in a way that certain states do not have in the USA. The Safe Cosmetics Compact is a US-driven campaign - but given the globalised culture we live in you still have to question why an organisation like Avon which aligns itself so closely to a health issue is not prepared to sign on the dotted line. If only for PR purposes.
On the subject of "pinkwashing" I notice that crystal deodorant (hailed as the great alternative to normal ones - but which personally makes me itch like a flea ridden badger) is now packaged in pink plastic with a bloody great big pink ribbon label on top.
Yeah I like the Think Before You Pink campaign urging people to shop cleverly and not be suckered into buying someting because it appears to be doing the right thing.
Apparently Yoplait in the US did this big thing about "send back your lids and we will donate money to fight breast cancer." In reality they had capped the donation and you'd have to have eaten 4 containers a day, every day for 4 months to raise $36. Rather than just give the money to the charities they turned it into a marketing opportunity and boosted their profits by getting well meaning consumers to buy their product because they thought they were genuinely helping breast cancer charities.
And of course the greatest culprits of this are the industries who are implicated in cancer-causing - like the cosmetics business, the dairy industry, motor cars and oil companies.