by Joyce Wiatroski
It’s October. Once again we are inundated with the annual mammography marketing campaign.
What we need is more emphasis on education and prevention, and less on detection, as a means for women to conquer breast cancer.
Researchers at the Nordic Cochrane Center in Denmark studied 500,000 women to determine the results of breast cancer screening programs. They found that for every one woman helped by breast cancer screening, ten were harmed through false diagnosis or unnecessary treatments that devastated their health.
Why is all the money and emphasis being spent on detection? What ever happened to seeking PREVENTION? Why are women not being educated on ways we can prevent this disease, instead of waiting to be diagnosed with it and then being given ‘treatment’?
Cancer is a pharmaceutical pot of gold that we all buy into year after year.
Shame on us.
The big business of breast cancer is alive and well and extremely profitable. Before you fork out dough for more walks for the cure and pink ribboned paraphernalia, think about the industry you’re supporting. Think before you pink!
Take a gander at all the companies that have jumped on the bandwagon with their Think Pink messages. Many of these companies are selling products that contribute to cancer. (Cosmetics and beauty aids made with synthetic chemicals, cereals and pastries made with processed white flour, sugar and hydrogenated oils, etc.) These manufacturers ask us to buy more of their products so we can get more cancer. Then generous souls that they are, they offer to donate a few cents from each purchase for more cancer research. Meanwhile, their profits steadily rise by riding on the coattails of breast cancer and its victims.
As a breast cancer survivor, woman and concerned citizen, I believe it’s a mandate for every woman to become more familiar with the literature on how one can avoid known carcinogens—factors that have been proven to contribute to breast cancer.
It’s also our responsibility to become familiar with the steps we can take to avoid this aggressive disease that will strike one in — how many women? Currently, it’s one in every eight. As we continue to ingest more synthetic chemicals and toxins from our food, water, air, clothing, cleaning products, etc. will we see this ratio escalate?
For an eye opening exposé on the correlation between synthetic chemicals to the near epidemic diseases we now face, I recommend reading The One Hundred Year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald. This noted investigative reporter shows, in layman’s terms, how the ‘progress of modern technology’ along with corporate greed has led us down the road to the current state of health in the Western world today.
Are you familiar with Breast Cancer Action (BCA)? Check out this organization that is actively AGAINST breast cancer and all the contributing factors that have proven to be precursors of this dreaded disease.
• Help support a worthwhile cause by joining the Think Before You Pink campaign. Use the leverage of your influential purchasing power by NOT purchasing pink items that contribute to breast cancer and other debilitating diseases.
• Make it your business to know what’s in the products you buy: the food you serve your family, the cleaning agents you use in your home, the cosmetics and beauty products you use on your skin and hair, the synthetic fabrics in your clothing.
• Don’t expect the guy who is making his living by selling you these items to inform you they are harmful. Find out for yourself if they are safe.
• Don’t wait for cancer to strike and then look for a treatment. Make it your first priority to find out how you can contribute to your own well being and then take essential steps to prevent it.
• Don’t let big business, whether it’s the medical community, the pharmaceutical industry, chemical companies, or factory farms and food giants dictate our future.
As women we need to unite and speak up for our healthful rights.
As a concerned sisterhood let’s continue to manifest . . .
Like fine wine, women grow better with thyme.
* Joyce Wiatroski is the wit and wisdom found on foodiefumblings blog. You can watch for her contributions on the Diva blog on Tuesdays.