October 2009 Newsletter

Once again we are awash in pink. A lot is said about treating breast cancer - which is profitable - but little about preventing it - which means speaking some inconvenient truths.

Two years ago, the Susan G. Komen organization and the Silent Spring Institute published "Environmental Factors in Breast Cancer," described as the most comprehensive review to date of scientific research on environmental factors and breast cancer risk. Researchers concluded that environmental pollutants contribute by "damaging DNA, promoting tumor growth, or increasing susceptibility by altering mammary gland development." Because breast cancer is so common and the chemicals so widespread, they said, "if even a small percentage is due to preventable environmental factors, modifying these factors would spare thousands of women. Regulators have not paid much attention to potential mammary carcinogens." The study concluded that cancer is an environmental disease.

That means it is preventable.

Unfortunately, the SGK organization pretty much ignores education about those environmental contributors. In fact, in one grocery store this month, I saw "pink" drinking bottles that were not BPA free, and "pink" air fresheners which are toxic. Anne C. Steinemann, PhD, an environmental engineering professor at the University of Washington, conducted a chemical analysis of the best- selling air fresheners and said, "I was surprised by both the number and the potential toxicity of the chemicals that were found." She found volatile organic compounds (VOCs), several of which are classified as carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants, which have no safe exposure level according to the EPA.[i] You can access an EPA fact sheet explaining that "There are four basic ingredients in air fresheners: formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, p- dichlorobenzene, and aerosol propellants." And the dangers of bisphenol A (BPA) are so well known that Canada has banned baby bottles with the chemical.

"What's missing [in all the October pink] is the truth," says Judy Brady of the Toxic Links Coalition in San Francisco. She and other activist breast cancer groups have something to point out about the Susan G. Komen Foundation's activities: "There's no talk about prevention except, in terms of lifestyle, your diet for instance. No talk about ways to grow food more safely. No talk about how to curb industrial carcinogens. No talk about contaminated water."[ii]

The American Cancer Society, a staunch defender of most cancer screening, is doing an about-face. Two recent studies published in the Journals of the National Cancer Institute found that for every additional case of breast cancer found after screening, there were 55 false positives. And this week, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an analysis of cancer screening and found that "If breast and prostate cancer screening really fulfilled their promise, cancers would now be found early, when they could be cured." So the cancer society is now quietly working on a new message to emphasize that screening for cancers can come with a real risk of overtreating many small cancers while missing later-stage cancers that are deadly.

The form of breast cancer screening most heavily promoted is mammography, a far from perfect screening tool. It is not good for women with dense breasts, implants, or pregnant or nursing women. One risk of mammography is that if you do have a cancerous mass, the last thing you want to do is to squeeze it which can cause the cancer to spread. Another risk is that annual mammograms deliver an annual dose of radiation, and radiation is carcinogenic. In fact, the only acknowledged cause of cancer by the American Cancer Society is radiation.

The Komen Foundation owns stock in General Electric, one of the largest makers of mammogram machines in the world. It also owns stock in several pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca (now AzkoNobel). Lobbying efforts brought about the removal of thermography coverage by insurance companies. And that's unfortunate because thermography can spot suspicious tissue sometimes 10 years before it can be detected by mammography.

Cancer cells are typically in the body 10-20 years before the mass gets large enough to be noticed. When a tumor is forming, it develops its own blood supply to feed its accelerated growth and this increased blood flow can increase the surface temperatures of the breast. Pre-cancerous tissues can start this process well in advance of the cells becoming malignant. Thermography measures the skin's autonomic response to that inflammation - its "heat signature."

Modern thermography is the cancer society's answer to screening that can help raise suspicions of breast cancer at an early stage, when there is still chance of complete cure.

At the Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine, we offer the advanced technology of thermography. You can read more about it by clicking here and here and here. We also have a lot of information for you about prevention; click here.

REFERENCES

[i]A Steinemann, Fragranced Consumer Products and Undisclosed Ingredients, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Volume 29, Issue 1, January 2009, Pages 32-38

[ii] http://tampa.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A3332