Not My Breasts

New State of the Evidence Making a Big Splash!

On Wednesday, Breast Cancer Fund released the 5th edition of State of the Evidence: The Connection between Breast Cancer and the Environment. The reception has been tremendous!

People love the new format with three sections: first, the Framework section that covers emerging themes in the field, second the Evidence section that aggregates over 400 studies connecting the environment to breast cancer and third, the Moving Forward section that outlines BCF's research and state and federal policy recommendations that will lead to the elimination of the environmental exposures the emerge from the evidence.

We also launched the State of the Evidence section of our website, allowing you to surf topics of interest to you--by themes, exposures or chemicals--and download key tables and figures from the report. Both the full report and the 6-page Advocate's Guide are available for download or for order in hardcopy on that webpage.

Also this week, BCF hosted a blogger briefing to get the word out to our online communities. Listen to an overview of the report by Executive Director Jeanne Rizzo and SOE Editor Janet Gray and the discussion that followed with the bloggers.

Then, on Thursday, 170 people joined the Collaborative on Health and the Environment conference call to hear Jeanne and Janet share the main findings of the report. Sorry you missed it? You can listen to the call at any time on the CHE website. 

Equipped with this strong foundation of science, together we have much work to do. This release is really a beginning, not an end. We'll keep you posted on the reach and impact of State of the Evidence 2008.

Introducing: State of the Evidence 2008

It's a big week at the Breast Cancer Fund! Every two years, we release State of the Evidence: The Connection between Breast Cancer and the Environment. The 2008 edition will be released this Wednesday, March 19 and will be available at www.breastcancerfund.org/evidence.

There are many new features in this 5th edition including 17 sidebars covering air pollution, plastics, cosmetics, household cleaning products and more, 14 tables and figures help clarify the evidence and a 6-page Advocate's Guide that provides a CliffsNotes® version of the report.

Do you want to know what's new? Join us for a conference call briefing with the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) on March 20, 2008 at 11:00 AM PDT. Visit the CHE website for more information, to recieve the call-in number or for information on how to stream the session live to your computer.

What Goes On Baby Goes In Baby, Too

On Monday, the respected medical journal Pediatrics published a study that could (should) change the way parents use and think about the lotions, powders and shampoos they rub on their babies.

The study showed a correlation between exposure to these typical personal care products and the levels of phthalates in the babies' urine. In other words, the babies who got the most lotion, powder and shampoo on their skin also had the highest levels of these toxic chemicals in their little bodies.

Phthalates, unfortunately for us and our kids, are not harmless. They've been linked to breast cancer, early puberty in girls, reduced testosterone levels, lowered sperm counts, genital defects in baby boys and testicular cancer.

Phthalates are often hidden in the ingredient "fragrance" because a loophole in U.S. law allows manufacturers to avoid disclosing the components of fragrance or perfume in products. The chemicals are also used to keep plastics soft and pliable--for use in products like baby toys and teethers, among other plastics.

In fact, phthalate exposure among kids is of such high concern that California recently banned them from toys intended for children 3 and younger (this bill was co-sponsored by the Breast Cancer Fund and Environment California in 2007), Congress has introduced a similar bill (the Children's Chemical Risk Reduction Act of 2007) and the state of Washington is considering a broader ban that would include phthalates, lead and cadmium in toys as well as personal care products for kids 12 and under.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, of which the Breast Cancer Fund is a part, expressed concern for both babies and women of childbearing age--baby's first environment. But this groundbreaking study proves what we already knew: what goes on our skin goes in our bodies. With that in mind, it's time we closed the loopholes on cosmetic safety in the U.S.

Breast Cancer in African American Women

A team of researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York has found that among women with a first breast cancer, black women are more likely to have larger tumors and to have more positive lymph nodes than white women. Positive lymph nodes are associated with an increase in risk of the cancer spreading. Their research will be published in the September 15 issue of Cancer.

According to the analysis, black women were 24% more likely to have one or more positive lymph nodes at breast cancer diagnosis than white women.

African American women are also more likely to have triple-negative cancers, meaning the tumor is estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative and HER2-negative. Unfortunately, the treatment options for these tumors are much more limited. The report’s co-author, Russell McBride, suspects that "there are a number of negative exposures in the course of life (in African American women) that increase risk of triple-negative cancers."

While some researchers struggle to understand the differences in breast cancer—rates, tumor types, diagnosis and treatment—among races, other researchers are focusing upstream and asking, “How are environmental exposures playing a role in higher breast cancer rates for African American women?”

BCF and The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute want to get the word out about the environmental risks of breast cancer in the African American community. There are things we can do right now to reduce our exposures. Download the BCF/UPCI African American brochure and email us if you would like to receive hard copies of the brochure for use in your community.

The Skeptics Are Moved

What does it take to move a mountain of skeptics? Move one step at a time and climb over it.

That's what Dr. Julia Brody and her team at Silent Spring Institute  have done. They climbed right over the wall of silence and published comprehensive research on breast cancer and the environment, including a database of 216 mammary carcinogens.

This is exactly what we hoped for when the Breast Cancer Fund took those first steps on the "pathway to prevention" -- aggregating the science in our State of the Evidence report starting in 2002. Since then, BCF has been pushing, pulling, encouraging and collaborating with colleague breast cancer organizations; and creating education, policy and media plans to bring attention to the environmental links to breast cancer.

Now, all those efforts are paying off -- a large funding institution like Komen supports the work of stellar research institutions like Silent Spring, a mainstream journal (Cancer) publishes it, the media covers it and the public is better served.

Might we save one generation of young girls from exposure to toxic chemicals that might spare them breast cancer later? Might we change public health policy? Another mountain –- more steps linking arms. I’m more hopeful this month than any other since I started this work.