[WellPeople] Cancer Industry Tour

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Misty L. Trepke

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Cancer industry tour

http://www.sfbg.com/News/34/06/6other.html

 

By Judy Brady

WE'VE JUST SURVIVED another year's National Breast Cancer Awareness

Month (NBCAM), the chemical/pharmaceutical-industry public relations

program designed to direct our attention away from what is really

happening.

 

The Toxic Links Coalition, an alliance of Bay Area cancer activists

and environmental justice organizations, is turning NBCAM on its

head by renaming October Cancer Industry Awareness Month, which we

commemorate with the annual Cancer Industry Tour of San Francisco's

Financial District.

 

The truth about cancer is out. The vast majority of breast cancers

(and other cancers, as well as numerous other diseases) are linked

to the proliferation of chemical and nuclear contaminants in the

environment. The response of polluting industries to this growing

body of evidence has been the creation of NBCAM to divert public

attention from their dirty practices. The unremitting message is

that the answer to the breast cancer epidemic lies in getting a

mammogram and raising more money for cancer research. Nary

a word is said about why we are getting sick and dying in increasing

numbers.

 

The inspiration for NBCAM came from Zeneca when it was a subsidiary

of the British company Imperial Chemical Industries. Since its

inception, NBCAM has been controlled by the now independent and

renamed AstraZeneca, an agricultural chemical/pharmaceutical

corporation that has become a permanent partner in the cancer

establishment. NBCAM's board includes representatives

from the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and

several medical societies. AstraZeneca boasts that it has spent

millions of dollars on NBCAM publicity; in return it retains the

right to approve or veto every poster, pamphlet, or advertisement

issued under the aegis of NBCAM.

 

AstraZeneca is the third largest producer of pesticides in the United

States, with annual sales in the billions. It is also the leading

producer of tamoxifen, the most widely prescribed drug for breast

cancer. A few years back, AstraZeneca completed a takeover of Salick

Health Care centers, which treat cancer patients. So AstraZeneca,

the wizard behind the NBCAM screen, is first contributing to the

increase in breast cancer, then profiting from its treatment with

cancer drugs, and finally wrapping up the whole package

neatly (in pink ribbons?) by controlling cancer care centers.

 

Other companies have been quick to jump on the gravy train, and pink

ribbons are everywhere. A few years ago the Wall Street Journal ran

a story with the headline " Linking Products to Breast-Cancer Fight

Helps Firms Bond with Their Customers. " " Companies are finding out, "

the article continued, " that the pink ribbon, symbol of breast-

cancer awareness patterned after the red AIDS ribbon, can help them

connect with female customers. " The list of companies dedicated to

the " fight against breast cancer " grows longer every year.

 

Lining up behind the big money are some breast cancer organizations,

such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which hosts the annual Race

for the Cure in major U.S. cities every October. It's not surprising

that the Komen Foundation has received financial support from

organizations like the Chlorine Chemistry Council (trade association

of the chlorine chemical industry). This year Bristol-Myers Squibb

and Occidental Chemical Corporation were listed as sponsors. For the

past several years the Komen Foundation has raised a few extra

millions from a partnership with BMW in a nationwide program called

Drive for the Cure. No one is talking about the suspected link

between breast cancer and benzo(a)pyrene, a byproduct of

automobile exhaust.

 

The National Cancer Institute predicted in 1994 that not long after

the turn of the millennium, cancer will overtake heart disease as

the leading cause of death in this country. In the meantime, our

slim environmental regulations are being systematically dismantled

by an industry-friendly, pro-free trade government.

 

Taking back October as Cancer Industry Awareness Month just might

become the most effective grassroots effort to confront the NBCAM

disinformation campaign. During the sixth annual Cancer Industry

Tour, the week of Oct. 25, marchers paid noisy visits to the

corporate headquarters of various polluting industries. Many

participants wore a new button that portrayed the ubiquitous pink

ribbon, but with one end of the ribbon trailing down to form a noose.