pollutants, and other causes of cancer
pollutants, and other causes of cancer I came across this and felt it contained so much of interest it was worth posting
— Just to say — thanks for that Phoebe.
Joy xxx
VERY good article I have just looked at the article - it is excellent - very full and informative, especially on the “blame the victim” nonsense - low fat diets and high fibre does not change your likelihood of not getting cancer - proper research has been done.
And basically there are loads of companies using carcinogenic substances in their products.
It has made me want to go and check all my products to see what they contain
Pamela
More Reading I’ve recently been in contact with Breakthrough Breast Cancer to ask what’s going on about research into whether there is a link between environmental factors & breast cancer. They sent me some links for more info:
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organisation. Since 1972, the IARC has reviewed approximately 900 agents and their findings are available at www-cie.iarc.fr/monoeval/allmonos.html
European Commission initiative:
europa.eu.int/comm/research/endocrine/index_en.html
Within the UK, a three year Environment and Human Health programme has recently been set up, to focus on environmental pollutants and their toxicity to humans. nerc.ac.uk/funding/thematics/envhh/.
In the USA, the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project investigated whether environmental factors are responsible for the high incidence of breast cancer in north-eastern America. It was finished in 2002, but further analyses and a follow-up study are still in progress epi.grants.cancer.gov/LIBCSP/
I think many charities and researchers underplay the possibility of environmental factors being a factor for cancer risk. It’s obvious from reading some of this stuff that they really don’t know the answer and how could they. There are so many substances and combinations of substances in the environment that people and animals are exposed to.
I also told Breakthrough that it was noticeable that they and the other cancer charities had not commented on the REACH programme. This is the Regulation, Evaluation & Authorisation of Chemicals programme to promote better standards of safety in manufacture and use of existing and new chemicals in Europe. Breakthrough’s response is that Breakthrough has not commented on REACH because its supporters have not shown any interest in the question of chemical safety testing.
Now I have a lot of time for Breakthrough and they do a lot of good work, but surely an organisation whose vision is “a future free from the fear of breast cancer” should be taking an active interest in public debates on the safety of substances which may damage human health and not sitting there waiting for its supporters to tell them they ought to be looking at it.
However, all the Cancer Charities are the same. They all seem to keep their heads below the parapet when it comes to open discussion about environmental factors. If you are a cancer charity supporter and are concerned that charities are not being active and open enough about the possible risks posed by environmental factors - email them and tell them what you want them to do about it. Otherwise nothing much will happen.
— Hi Daphne — I agree entirely.
At the moment I am raising money, and working very hard to do so, for a charity called Genesis for breast cancer prevention. As per your last paragraph, I have actually sent an email asking HOW they intend to look into this, and have environmental factors (pollution, food additives, etc) been included in their plans. I am still at this moment awaiting a response.
I feel the charity very worthwhile in any case, but an answer to these issues will encourage me even more if they are doing something positive on these lines.
Last night, clearing out my food cupboards, I started re-reading the labels (am I sad or what!), and I was amazed how many contained aspartame or hydrogenated oils. Two ingredients I have only recently realised the dangers of.
Joy xxxx
Chinese women and breast cancer According to this article, breast cancer is increasing rapidly in China - well Shanghai, anyway.
chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-03/08/content_527979.htm
This statement is interesting when you consider that in the UK, more older women are diagnosed.
“What’s more, although the most likely age of contracting breast cancer is between 35 and 45, hospital reports nationwide are showing that more and more women in their late 20s and early 30s are falling victim to the disease.”
Interesting as well that the director of the research centre states that environmental pollution is one of the likely reasons for the increase.
Can he come and work in the UK please. It would be a refreshing change to see environmental factors taken seriously rather than the pat on the head, “don’t worry about it dear, as there’s no conclusive proof that environmental pollution and chemicals had anything to do with your breast cancer” attitude that prevails here.
Actually, in my experience, some doctors who specialise in treating breast cancer are a lot more open minded about the possibility of environmental chemicals being implicated than we might suppose from public statements made by charities and research organisations.
Is there a Link with Breast Cancer & Chemicals Chemicals from underarm deodorants and other cosmetics can build up inside the body, according to a recent study. British
researchers have found traces of chemicals called parabens in
tissue taken from women with breast cancer. While there is no
evidence parabens cause cancer (breast cancer or any other
cancer), the scientists have called for the use of parabens to
be reviewed. The cosmetics industry insists the chemicals,
which are used as preservatives and are approved for use by
regulators, are safe. Dr Philippa Darbre and colleagues at the
University of Reading carried out tests on samples of 20
different human breast tumours (Breat Cancer). Writing in the
Journal of Applied Toxicology, they say they found traces of
parabens in every sample (of breast cancer tumour). Their tests
suggested the chemicals had seeped into the tissue after being
applied to the skin. “This is the first study to show their accumulation in human tissues,” said Dr Darbre. “It demonstrates that if people are exposed to these chemicals, then
the chemicals will accumulate in their bodies.” Dr Darbre said
there may be reason for people to be concerned about the
findings. “Their detection in human breast tumours (breast
cancer) is of concern since parabens have been shown to be able
to mimic the action of the female hormone oestrogen,” she said.
“Oestrogen can drive the growth of human breast tumours (breast
cancer) . It would therefore seem especially prudent to consider
whether parabens should continue to be used in such a wide range of cosmetics applied to the breast area including deodorants.”
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