Not My Breasts

California takes another step toward regulating toxic bisphenol A

Yesterday, the California Assembly Health Committee approved the Toxics-Free Babies and Toddlers Act (SB 797), which would ban bisphenol A, or BPA, from food and drink containers designed for children ages three and younger. BPA, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to breast cancer and other serious health problems, is used in some plastic baby bottles and sippy cups, as well as in the lining of infant formula cans. The bill, which has already passed the Senate, will now be voted on by the full Assembly, likely in August. If it passes, it will go to the Governor’s desk and hopefully become law by September.

While environmental health advocates are cheering, the BPA industry is fuming. Our Policy Manager Gretchen Lee Salter, who was testifying at the Capitol yesterday, reported on more (and more desperate) industry shenanigans. Among their arguments to the committee on why toxic BPA should continue to be allowed to leach from baby bottles into developing babies’ bodies was this choice reasoning: BPA is so ubiquitous that it is found in breast milk, so perhaps breast milk would be banned under this bill. Our response: BPA is in breast milk because it leaches from food containers! BPA does not naturally occur in breast milk...give us a break!

Luckily, the committee had the sense to see through industry’s desperate logic. As Gretchen put it, “The chemical industry put on a full-court press and Assembly Health Committee members got an earful from industry lobbyists. Ultimately, legislators saw that the science against BPA is just too strong, and that kids had to come before high-priced lobbyists.”

Now we’re getting back to work to make sure the full Assembly does the same.

A virtual expedition for breast cancer prevention

During the week of Climb Against the Odds, the Breast Cancer Fund held the inaugural Virtual Climb Against the Odds, an opportunity for those at sea level to join the expedition to prevent breast cancer. Family and friends of climbers and supporters of the Breast Cancer Fund chose their own adventure for the week of June 21 to do in solidarity with the climb team. Among them was Sue Davis-Killian and several close friends of Jennifer Wilson from Florida, who agreed to climb one flight of stairs for every $5 donated to the Breast Cancer Fund. Together, they climbed 142 flights of stairs and raised $770! We asked Sue to write about her experience:

It was quite a shock to me and all of Jennifer’s friends when she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. Although we all know the statistics, no one expects it to hit so close to home – especially not in the healthiest person in our group! 

I had the honor of attending a few chemo sessions with Jennifer. She was so brave! It takes a certain presence of mind to quietly let nurses pump toxins into your body through a hole in your chest. 

Like Jennifer’s other friends, I was looking for ways to show Jennifer that I love her and respect the vast struggle she endured last year. I seriously considered doing the climb at Mt. Shasta with Jennifer, but the realities of money, time, and children crept in.   My next thought was that our group would have a get-together while Jennifer was climbing, so that we could send her mental thoughts of strength, energy, and love. That idea morphed into the idea of climbing stairs in solidarity with Jennifer. I was thrilled when I found out that there was a “Virtual Climb” option for Climb against the Odds.

What made our virtual climb successful in terms of fund-raising was that a bunch of us all used the same fund-raising page. I created a page that was appropriate for us all, and everyone forwarded it to family and friends. I think that if everyone had to create their own page, it just would not have happened. We agreed to climb one flight of stairs for each $5 donated. Since we were asking for only $5, it was easy to send to a lot of people, although most people who donated gave more than $5. People enjoyed the thought of us huffin’ and puffin’ on the stairs, and one friend donated $100 the morning of the climb just to make us climb an extra 20 flights!

We had a blast doing the climb, although a few climbers were disappointed when I told them that no, coming down does not count as a flight of stairs! They all doubted that we could do the required 142 flights of stairs, but we did it in about two hours.   We planned it for the morning of the real climb, and stopped periodically to think of Jennifer on the mountain (and to rest and eat a donut!). We did the climb at my house. For part of the climb my two children, the 12-year-old dog, and the guinea pig joined in! 

I can’t wait to do it again next year.  I’m thinking maybe a media event, climbing stairs at a famous local hotel.  I guess I’ll have to leave the dog and guinea pig at home!

Thank you to all of our climbers - virtual and actual alike - for your extraordinary commitment and support of the Breast Cancer Fund's work to identify and eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer.

Interested in climbing Mt. Shasta in 2010? Visit www.breastcancerfund.org/climb or contact Connie George at cgeorge@breastcancerfund.org.

Frogs and funding for cancer research: connecting the dots

Yesterday’s New York Times front-page story lamented that funding for cancer research is too timid and, therefore, not likely to lead to significant scientific breakthroughs.

A few pages later, op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote about how exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals used in agriculture, industry and consumer products, are linked to alarming health problems, including cancer.

It was thrilling to see both of these important topics—topics we at the Breast Cancer Fund talk about every day—covered in one day's paper. But the pages separating the stories only served to remind me of the disconnect between mainstream cancer research and the growing scientific evidence of the environmental causes of breast cancer.

As Kristof points out, endocrine disruptors have been linked to early puberty (a risk factor for later-life breast cancer), as well as to cancer itself. He quotes the recent Endocrine Society report that states that “endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer,” among other health effects. (Read about our take on the The Endocrine Society report in our blog post.) Yet, back on page 1, there is no mention whatsoever of funding research into the environmental causes of cancer. It’s all about research into personal habits, detection and cure.

When no more than 1 in 10 women with breast cancer has a genetic history of the disease, it’s clear that we urgently need more investigation into its environmental causes. Let’s connect the dots: the Times’ call for bolder cancer research and its call for more attention to endocrine disruptors should be one and the same.

A climber's perspective: Down from the mountain

On Wednesday, climber Jennifer Wilson summited Mt. Shasta with the Breast Cancer Fund's 2009 Climb Against the Odds team. She was exhausted last night when she returned to the town of Mt. Shasta, but rallied this morning to write her reflections on the climb. Plus we have photos!

What an amazing event! I'm now off the mountain, clean (yay!) and rested, and can just begin to look back on our journey to and up Mount Shasta. It's thrilling to have been a part of this event. I've met such wonderful people, and I truly hope I  have raised awareness among others of the many young  healthy people without family history who are getting  breast cancer and the importance of investigating the preventative causes of cancer.

The mountain was amazing. Base camp at Hidden Valley was spread out over a rocky outcropping overlooking the valley and town below with many mountain ranges in the distance. As we started our ascent in the wee hours, the new moon allowed the stars to be especially brilliant. As the sun started to rise, we had a beautiful view of the shadow of the mountain on the valley. Somehow, we were fortunate for the entire climb to have perfect weather.

The climb was not all easy though. Forty mph sustained winds at the top of the West Face made it nearly impossible to keep from being blown around. I can't give enough credit to the Shasta Mountain Guide on my rope team, Dane Brinkley, who told us we needed to push through it and even reeled me in closer to him to make it easier for me. He and our other East Coast team guide, Ben Adkison, were the best coaches, gourmet chefs and friends we could have asked for. Dane's mother is a three-year breast cancer survivor. Chris Carr, co-owner of Shasta Mountain Guides, also deserves huge credit for helping one of my teammates move on during a difficult time to eventually summit.

Amazingly, I feel pretty good physically, although I will need to google a few muscles that are sore that I can't even identify! I also have learned a cheaper way than Botox to get plump lips: just don't put sunscreen on your lips every single break when going up a 14'er!

There's so much more I could say, but I want to make sure I have time to express appreciation to the many people who are involved in making this event such a success. Thanks to all the guides, the Shasta community and businesses, the Breast Cancer fund staff, all the supporters and contributors to all the climbers (with a huge hug to all of mine!), and the wonderful climbers this year, with a special thanks to the summiting East Coast team of survivors and strivers: Deb, Amy, Megan, Jess and Victoria, and our special training leader Beth Krusi.

The team heads home tomorrow after an exceptional week. We'll have more photos to share in the coming weeks, so check back on the blog.

Photos from the return

These pictures can say far more than I about the elation at the Bunny Flat trailhead at noon today. Congratulations climbers! What an amazing journey.  
 

Back at base camp

We just heard that all the climbers are safe and sound, back at base camp. Hooray! What a fabulous day for the Climb Against the Odds 2009 team.

On the way down

The report from base camp is that everyone is headed back to camp after reaching their personal summits. That includes the three climbers whose final altitudes hadn't yet been confirmed. Here's the full team roster with summits, updated:

Keira Armstrong - Summited
Gil Arriaga - Summited
Wendy Aten - Reached 12,800 feet, the top of the West Face
Diane Ball - Summited
Jessica Nicole Barton - Summited
Amy Boyce - Summited  
Kim Brannock - Summited  
Debra Cole - Summited  
Alice Dunning - Reached 12,300 feet
Pamela Erwin - Summited
Steven Heird - Summited
Lee Ann Holt - Reached 12,800 feet, the top of the West Face
Gary Howell - Summited                          
Amy Legate McAbee - Summited          
Laura Lifland - Summited
Marcella Macartney - Reached 12,400 feet
Victoria Molinaro - Summited
Linda Morton - Summited
Abby Orellana - Summited
Amy Paradis - Summited
Julie Quillin - Reached 10,500 feet
Kathi Salley Randall - Reached 13,400 feet, just below Misery Hill
Megan Shrestha - Summited
Tobi Stone - Summited
Cathy Ann Taylor - Summited
Susan Unger - Reached 12,800 feet, the top of the West Face
Jennifer Wilson - Summited
Anne Wood - Summited

Climb coordinator Connie George reports that the winds on the West Face were fierce today, nearly blowing climbers off their feet. Misery Hill is usually the windy spot on this route, but today the West Face really challenged the team.

The team should sleep well tonight at Hidden Valley base camp -- they've earned a good rest! Tonight friends and family in Shasta are invited to join us for a celebratory sign-making party at Shasta Mountain Resort, and tomorrow we'll cheer the team off the mountain at around noon.

Twenty on the summit!

Big update from base camp! We have confirmation that 20 climbers reached the summit of Mt. Shasta today at 14,162 feet. Five climbers reached personal summits at other points on the mountain, and we're still awaiting confirmation on what altitude the three other climbers reached. We'll have updates on them very soon.

Here's the complete list of climbers, in alphabetical order:

Keira Armstrong - Summited
Gil Arriaga - Summited
Wendy Aten - Reached 12,800 feet
Diane Ball - Summited
Jessica Nicole Barton - Summited
Amy Boyce - Summited   
Kim Brannock - Summited   
Debra Cole - Summited   
Alice Dunning - Reached 12,300 feet
Pamela Erwin - Summited
Steven Heird - Summited
Lee Ann Holt - Awaiting word on Lee Ann's personal summit
Gary Howell - Summited                           
Amy Legate McAbee - Summited           
Laura Lifland - Summited
Marcella Macartney - Reached 12,400 feet
Victoria Molinaro - Summited
Linda Morton - Summited
Abby Orellana - Summited
Amy Paradis - Summited
Julie Quillin - Reached 10,500 feet
Kathi Salley Randall - Awaiting word on Kathi's personal summit
Megan Shrestha - Summited
Tobi Stone - Summited
Cathy Ann Taylor - Awaiting word on Cathy Ann's personal summit
Susan Unger - Reached crest of West Face at 12,800 feet
Jennifer Wilson - Summited
Anne Wood - Summited

Everyone is on their way back to base camp at Hidden Valley, where they'll spend tonight. Lots of good glissading happening right now!

Summit cutoff time extended

Though normally the guides want all climbers off the summit by noon (to keep them out of weather trouble and to ensure that everyone gets back to base camp by a reasonable hour), conditions are so optimal today that the cutoff time has been extended.

The weather is clear and the snow is exceptional, which means climbers will be able to glissade much of the way down. Glissading is not only a huge time- and energy-saver, it's also a lot of fun.

So for those following along at home, that means that summit news will be forthcoming, even though it's now 12:40.

One more team crests the West Face

We just got confirmation that a second rope team has passed over the crest of the West Face, and the other rope teams are clustered just below the crest, poised to reach it within approximately half an hour from now.

The West Face crest is followed by a plateau area, leading up to Misery Hill. From Misery Hill they'll cross the Summit Plateau before reaching the Summit Pinnacle.

We now know that the Northwest team was the first rope team to make the crest, followed about half an hour later by the East Coast team. Because individuals sometimes switch rope teams on the way up the mountain, we can't say for sure where individual climbers are on the mountain. The guides will report individuals as they reach the summit, and we'll post that news as it comes in.