Pink ribbons or green dollar signs?
A look at the breast cancer business
D.R. Bartlette
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Opinion
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Other pink ribbon boosters include Yoplait yogurt, whose dairy products contain bovine growth hormone, or rBGH. Under "Dairy" on the Komen Web site, it states a possible risk of cancer from bovine growth hormone, but then dismisses it using a study on dairy fat consumption - comparing apples to oranges. Bovine growth hormone has been banned in other countries because of its link to cancer.
BMW, Ford and GM are on the pink ribbon bandwagon, too - despite the fact that their cars emit polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been linked to breast cancer. PAHs are not listed on the Komen Web site at all.
Rally for the Cure is the nation's largest cause-oriented women's golf program, and it supports the mission of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Neither the Susan G. Komen Web site or the Rally for the Cure Web site contain any information about pesticides being linked to cancer - and the majority of golf courses in the United States are sprayed with pesticides.
Today, we are exposed to an estimated 100,000 synthetic chemicals, and another 1,000 are added to that number every day. More than 90 percent of these chemicals have never been tested for their effect on human health. The Centers for Disease Control state that Americans carry at least 148 toxic chemicals in their fatty tissue, some of which have been banned for decades. There is a significant body of evidence linking exposure to these chemicals with cancer.
If these organizations truly want to eradicate breast cancer, why aren't they saying more about environmental toxins? This seems suspiciously like a "blame the victim" mentality - only you (or your ancestry) can be blamed if you end up with breast cancer.
This is not to fault the many dedicated people who work on various pink ribbon campaigns and fundraisers across the country. I'm positive that most of them are honest, ethical and truly want to cure this disease. All I'm saying is that it's time to move beyond feel-good half-truths and raise real awareness about cancer. Prevention is not just about diet and mammograms. If we truly want to end breast cancer, we need to find and eradicate its causes - all of them.
D.R. Bartlette is a graduate student in journalism at the UA. She is a staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.
BMW, Ford and GM are on the pink ribbon bandwagon, too - despite the fact that their cars emit polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been linked to breast cancer. PAHs are not listed on the Komen Web site at all.
Rally for the Cure is the nation's largest cause-oriented women's golf program, and it supports the mission of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Neither the Susan G. Komen Web site or the Rally for the Cure Web site contain any information about pesticides being linked to cancer - and the majority of golf courses in the United States are sprayed with pesticides.
Today, we are exposed to an estimated 100,000 synthetic chemicals, and another 1,000 are added to that number every day. More than 90 percent of these chemicals have never been tested for their effect on human health. The Centers for Disease Control state that Americans carry at least 148 toxic chemicals in their fatty tissue, some of which have been banned for decades. There is a significant body of evidence linking exposure to these chemicals with cancer.
If these organizations truly want to eradicate breast cancer, why aren't they saying more about environmental toxins? This seems suspiciously like a "blame the victim" mentality - only you (or your ancestry) can be blamed if you end up with breast cancer.
This is not to fault the many dedicated people who work on various pink ribbon campaigns and fundraisers across the country. I'm positive that most of them are honest, ethical and truly want to cure this disease. All I'm saying is that it's time to move beyond feel-good half-truths and raise real awareness about cancer. Prevention is not just about diet and mammograms. If we truly want to end breast cancer, we need to find and eradicate its causes - all of them.
D.R. Bartlette is a graduate student in journalism at the UA. She is a staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.
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Randi
posted 4/19/07 @ 5:53 PM EST
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, of the National Insitutes of Health is recruiting women for a study of the environmental and genetic causes of breast cancer right now, and you can help! The Sister Study needs 50,000 women by 2008. (Continued…)
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