Not My Breasts

Eight going on eighteen (Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families blog, 1/8/2010)

Is early puberty really cause for concern? Yep, it's a risk factor for breast cancer. And, like breast cancer, it may be triggered in part by hormone-disrupting chemicals in our everyday environment. If you have a daughter, today's blog post from the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition (of which the Breast Cancer Fund is a part) is a must-read:

A few years ago, I noticed that my beautiful, vivacious seven-year-old daughter had breasts. Wasn't this a little young? She was into Harry Potter, rainbow sherbet and puppies — not bras and pads. (Read complete post.)

For more information, access our free publication, The Falling Age of Puberty.

Bill sponsor sees support for BPA ban (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/6/2010)

Could Wisconsin become the latest state to ban BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups? The bill's sponsor thinks so, as reported yesterday:

The sponsor of a state bill to ban bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups said Wednesday she is confident there is enough support to institute such a ban in Wisconsin.

State Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) said a Senate committee vote on the matter could come in the next few weeks. (Read complete article.)

Wisconsin is one of dozens of states, counties and cities nationwide that have considered laws to limit human exposure to this estrogenic chemical. Alongside these efforts, the Breast Cancer Fund is working on a proposal now in Congress that would enact a nationwide ban on BPA in food and beverage containers. So no matter where you live in the U.S., you can voice your support for protection from BPA.

A missed deadline (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/5/2010)

Editorializing on BPA and the FDA's failure to act, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said earlier this week:

It's better to make the right decision than a hasty one. But we know this: There is ample reason to suspect BPA in a range of human illnesses. The ubiquitous chemical is found in everything from hardened plastics to the lining of metal food containers and is present in the urine of more than 93% of American adults and more than 90% of newborns. Even at very low doses, it is believed to interrupt the body's endocrine system. (Read complete article.)

We certainly agree.

FDA to miss third deadline on BPA ruling (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/29/2009)

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel continues to track the BPA story, reporting most recently on the FDA's lack of action. If you haven't been following closely, the agency has now postponed its ruling on BPA's safety three times. For some insight into why this matters, the paper spoke with our policy director:

"I'm extremely frustrated by the FDA delay, and I'm even more frustrated by their silence about the delay," said Janet Nudelman, policy director at the Breast Cancer Fund. "Each day it further delays taking action, more newborn babies, children and pregnant women are left unprotected from this hormone-disrupting compound linked to breast cancer and birth defects." (Read complete article.)

It's best to avoid BPA, federal official says (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/12/2009)

The Breast Cancer Fund's concern about BPA in food and drink containers was echoed by a top health official in Saturday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The head of the primary federal agency studying the safety of bisphenol A said Friday that people should avoid ingesting the chemical - especially pregnant women, infants and children.

"There are plenty of reasonable alternatives," said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, in an interview with the Journal Sentinel.

While stressing she is not a medical doctor, Birnbaum said she has seen enough studies on the chemical to be concerned about its effects on human health. (Read complete article.)

Cancer from the kitchen? (NY Times, 12/5/09)

Another excellent op-ed from New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof, this time focusing on the endocrine disruptors in plastics, cosmetics and more that can put us at greater risk for diseases like breast cancer:

The battle over health care focuses on access to insurance, or tempests like the one that erupted over new mammogram guidelines.

But what about broader public health challenges? What if breast cancer in the United States has less to do with insurance or mammograms and more to do with contaminants in our water or air -- or in certain plastic containers in our kitchens? What if the surge in asthma and childhood leukemia reflect, in part, the poisons we impose upon ourselves? (Read complete article.)

FDA likely to delay ruling on BPA (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/30/09)

The FDA will delay its new safety analysis of BPA, according to an article in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Despite months of additional study and a self-imposed timetable, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration likely will not release its ruling Monday on the safety of bisphenol A, a chemical used in thousands of household products that has been linked to developmental and behavioral problems.

...Even if a new ruling does not come Monday, environmental groups - including the Breast Cancer Fund, Environmental Working Group and the National Resource Defense Council - say they will ask the FDA to immediately impose a public health warning, mandatory labeling of food cans, and an outright interim ban on polycarbonate plastic in food containers. (Read complete article.)

While the FDA is working on its safety reassessment, the Breast Cancer Fund is working with Congress to ban BPA from all food and beverage containers. You can help: Ask your senators to sign on to the Ban Poisonous Additives Act.

BPA raised workers' risk of sexual dysfunction, study says (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Yet another reason to avoid bisphenol A in your own life and advocate for those who don't have the luxury of choosing safer alternatives. Breast cancer is just one of the many tragic risks of this estrogenic chemical.

Chinese factory workers exposed to huge amounts of bisphenol A substantially increased their risk of sexual dysfunction, according to a study released late Tuesday that is expected to add more urgency to the question of the chemical's safety.

Read the article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Nov. 11, 2009).

Rethink Pink NOW! Saner Solutions to Breast Cancer (Huffington Post)

Blogger/writer Helen Cordes posted an excellent piece on the Huffington Post last week, urging readers to reevaluate our mainstream concepts of breast cancer detection and prevention -- mammography, hormone therapy, diet and exercise -- with links to the Breast Cancer Fund's State of the Evidence report and one of our projects, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics:

Re-vision Prevention--And We All Win

*Stop using cancer-causers, and tell everyone why. As the leading breast cancer prevention organization Breast Cancer Fund notes, speaking out about prevention is perhaps most important in October, when breast cancer awareness is high. After all, genetic causes account for only 5 to 10% of breast cancers, and while it's unquestionably beneficial to exercise and eat healthy, fitness is no guarantee of escaping breast cancer, which has steadily risen at the same time as the chemical proliferation of the last 40 years.

Read the whole post on the Huffington Post.