Chemicals and Breast Cancer
Looking for a cause for breast cancer? Family history and your genetic makeup may account for a small number of cases, but according to the Cancer Blog:
A bundle of scientific reports indicate more than 200 chemicals, found in the air and in consumer products, cause breast cancer in animal tests.
Scary, isn't it? Even more so when you read the list of potential culprits:
There are 216 chemicals that induced breast tumors in animals. Of these, 97 directly affect humans and include industrial solvents, pesticides, dyes, gasoline and diesel exhaust compounds, cosmetics ingredients, hormones, pharmaceuticals, radiation, and a chemical in chlorinated drinking water.
Medical News Today adds:
"Overall, exposure to mammary gland carcinogens is widespread," the researchers wrote in a supplemental published on Monday in the online edition of the journal Cancer. They added that the data were too incomplete to estimate how many breast cancer cases might be linked to chemical exposure, but because the disease is so common and the chemicals so widespread, "the public health impacts of reducing exposures would be profound even if the true relative risks are modest."
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:53 pm
This news is shocking on some ways, but also provides hope since we know that roughly 90 percent of breast cancers have an environmental component. With 73 of these 216 chemicals found in common household products, there are many that we can avoid through awareness. The Silent Spring website provides a list of these chemicals, but figuring out what products to avoid can be difficult for someone who does not read chemistry texts for fun. We have started compiling a table of common products to avoid based on these chemicals and solutions/alternatives. This can be found at http://www.avoidcancernow.com. One the left hand of the home page, click on breast cancer news. The Environmental Working Group also provides information on many cosmetics and this can be found at http://www.safecosmetics.org.
Lynne Eldridge M.D.
Author, “Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time: Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer”
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
May 29th, 2007 at 8:33 am
What an excellent resource. I’ll write a blof on this to let folks know where to find the infornmation.
September 5th, 2007 at 12:35 am
This news read and this blog some ways to given by the feelings. But your suggestion is good.
January 10th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Thank you so much for this inspirational post. The chemotherapy is really the most painful phase not physically, but emotionally. My sister-in-law underwent a breast removal surgery after being diagnosed stage 2 borderline 3. The following chemotherapy had serious side-effects. She lost all the hair and had to stay in home for months together.