In recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we wanted to share an article with you by Diane Drum and originally printed in The Oregonian (our local paper). We’ve shared this article in the past but we think it’s worth repeating!
Knowledge is Power in the Fight Against Cancer
(published in the Oregonian 07/04)
My goldfish get nervous every time I change their water. They act like they would rather suffocate in green slime than suffer the uncertainty of the change to a cleaner environment.
We are as dependent upon our current economy as my fish are upon their water. We are as nervous as my goldfish when anything implies that our economy may need a major overhaul. Maybe that’s why we rarely see news about increases in cancer incidence. Instead, cancer stories are about individuals who face the realities of cancer with insight, or about slight decreases in specific cancers. Likewise, mainstream cancer organizations focus on decreasing mortality and improving quality of life for those who already have cancer rather than on understanding or preventing incidence. Perhaps discussing cancer incidence would invite the question, “Why the increase?” The answer to that question might have implications for some basic assumptions we have about our economy and the “rights” of polluters.
Here is a small sample of information that is rarely heard outside of public health circles. Statistics from the University of Illinois School of Public Health state that in the last 3 decades non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has increased nearly 100%, brain cancer 80-90%, testicular cancer in men 28-35 years old 300%, childhood cancers 40-50%. These statistics are adjusted for population shifts such as increased age.
When our mothers were little girls, 1 in 40 women developed breast cancer at some point in her life, according to Devra Davis, author of When Smoke Ran Like Water. When they were young mothers, the statistic was 1 in 22.
This year I became one of the 1 in 8. The Oregon Department of Human Services Web site says cancer kills more of us in Oregon than cardiovascular disease. Oregon ranks consistently in the top five states for breast cancer incidence.
“Self” magazine reports that we come into contact with over 15,000 chemicals daily. Over 90% of them have never been studied for their health effects.
When the Centers for Disease Control tested Americans, they found between 135-160 different man-made chemicals in our body tissues. American women have 10 times more fire retardant in their breast milk than European women.
Davis points out that adopted children have cancer profiles that match their adopted family more closely than their genetic family. A Swedish study of identical twins concluded that at least 73% of cancer risk is environmental, and that people are especially vulnerable during the first 20 years of life.
Many organizations such as the American Nursing Association advocate that we begin to use the “Precautionary Principle” to guide economic and environmental decisions. Among other things, the precautionary principle advocates preventive action where the likely benefit justifies the cost, and risk reduction before full proof of harm is available if the effects could be serious or irreversible.
Change is possible. In 1970, Israel banned 3 major agricultural chemicals, some of which are still heavily used in the United States. In the next 15 years, despite trends such as later and fewer pregnancies – believed to cause an increase in breast cancer – their breast cancer rate decreased 8 per cent, the only breast cancer incidence reduction in the industrial world.
Slight decreases in overall cancer incidence in the US have been reported by the National Cancer Institute’s annual report. This is partially explained by decreased smoking, medical practices such as cervical screening for pre-cancerous cells, and perhaps an increase in environmental legislation since the 1960’s.
I deeply appreciate the support this community gives to those of us dealing with cancer, but it still takes a terrible toll. Many of us are going to die and leave our families at a young age. My personal grief feels unbearable when a member of our community dies from cancer and there is no open, honest counting of that death, followed by the question, “Why?”
As a modern society, we will never completely eliminate all risks. We take a risk every time we get into a car. But we know that risk; it is openly discussed. Legislation has been passed to reduce that risk. We deserve the same open discussion and reasonable legislation as it relates to cancer and carcinogens.
After all, we are not goldfish. We are humans, in a society with democratic traditions. In our short time on this earth we can use our democratic rights to gradually make our economic waters cleaner for us, our children, and our grandchildren.
