Drug Manufacturers Avoid Scrutiny of Chemical Causes of Cancer by Promoting Mammography & Tamoxifen

[Guest guest]

Drug Manufacturers Avoid Scrutiny of Chemical Causes of Cancer by Promoting

Mammography & Tamoxifen JoAnn Guest Apr 26, 2005 16:44 PDT

 

BREAST CANCER UNAWARENESS MONTH

http://www.preventcancer.com/patients/med_avoid/nbcam.htm

 

Press Release, October 14, 1996-- Commenting on the anniversary of

National Breast Cancer Awareness month (NBCAM), Dr. Samuel Epstein,

Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition (CPC) stated, " A decade-old

multi-million dollar deal between National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

sponsors and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) has produced reckless

misinformation on breast cancer. " Dr. Epstein, a leading international

authority on cancer causing effects of environmental pollutants, will be

speaking on breast cancer prevention at a conference, " Women, Health, &

the Environment " in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 14-15. It is

sponsored by CPC, in conjunction with Greenpeace and Women’s

Environmental and Development Organization (WEDO).

 

Zeneca Pharmaceutical, a U.S. subsidiary and recent spinoff of Imperial

Chemical Industries (ICI), has been the sole funder of National Breast

Cancer Awareness Month since 1984. ICI is one of the largest

manufacturers of petrochemical and chlorinated organic products, such as

acetochlor and vinyl chloride, and the sole manufacturer of Tamoxifen,

the world’s top-selling cancer drug used for breast cancer. Financial

sponsorship by Zeneca/ICI gives them editorial control over every

leaflet, poster, publication, and commercial produced by NBCAM. NBCAM is

promoted by the cancer establishment, the National Cancer Institute

(NCI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) with their corporate

sponsors.

 

ICI has supported the NCI/ACS blame-the-victim theory of the causes of

breast and other cancers. This theory attributes escalating cancer rates

to heredity and faulty lifestyle, rather than avoidable exposures to

industrial carcinogens contaminating air, water, food, consumer

products, and the workplace.

 

Dr. Epstein will summarize the evidence on avoidable environmental and

other causes of breast cancer ignored in NBCAM promotional materials:

 

Since the 1950’s scientific evidence has incriminated chlorinated

organic pesticides as breast cancer risk factors because of their

carcinogenicity, estrogenic effects, and accumulation in body fat,

particularly the breast.

 

 

The unregulated use of growth promoting hormonal cattle feed additives

has resulted in near universal contamination of meat products. This

results in life-long exposure to carcinogenic estrogens, and poses a

major avoidable risk of breast cancer.

 

 

Where you work increases your breast cancer risks. Excess breast cancers

were found in the 1970’s in women working with vinyl chloride. There is

similar evidence among petrochemical and electrical workers. In spite of

more women working in such industries, NCI recently admitted that it has

still not investigated these risks among working women.

 

 

Where you live increases risks of breast cancer. Based on a review of 21

New Jersey counties, and more recently 339 nationwide counties,

statistically significant associations were found between excess breast

cancer mortality and residence in counties where hazardous waste sites

are located.

 

 

Living near a nuclear facility increases your chances of dying from

breast cancer. Based on a nationwide survey of 268 counties within 50

miles of 51 military and civilian nuclear reactors, CPC member Dr. Jay

Gould, showed that breast cancer mortality in these " nuclear counties "

has increased at 10 times the national rate from 1950 to 1989. Counties

near military reactors, such as Hanford, Oak Ridge and Savannah River,

have registered the greatest increases, ranging from 27 to 200%. Dr.

Gould charged NCI with " misrepresentation of such findings. "

 

 

Premenopausal mammography increases your risk of breast cancer.

Increases in breast cancer mortality have been consistently reported

following repeated mammograms in younger women in six randomized

controlled clinical trials over the last decade. Based on this evidence,

NCI has recently withdrawn recommendations for pre-menopausal

mammography. ACS, with financial support from Dupont and General

Electric (both heavily invested in mammography equipment), and

self-interested radiologists are still promoting this dangerous

practice.

 

 

Participation in the 1972 NCI/ACS reckless, high dose mammography

experiments has increased breast cancer risks for the 400,000 women

involved.

 

 

Breast implants, particularly polyurethane foam, pose serious risks of

breast cancer. Evidence on the carcinogenicity of polyurethane foam

dates back to the early 1960’s. One breakdown product of polyurethane is

2,4-toluenediamine which was removed from hair dyes in 1971 following

discovery of its carcinogenicity. Frank admission of these risks are

found in internal NCI, FDA and industry documents.

 

 

The Tamoxifen " chemoprevention " trial is a travesty! Since 1992, the

cancer establishment recruited 16,000 healthy women in a Tamoxifen

" chemoprevention " trial. NCI and ACS claimed in their patient consent

forms that Tamoxifen could substantially reduce breast cancer risks,

while trivializing risks of drug complications. There is strong evidence

of Tamoxifen’s toxicity, including high risks of uterine,

gastrointestinal and fatal liver cancer. " This trial is scientifically

and ethically reckless, and participating institutions and clinicians

are at serious risk of future malpractice claims, " warned Dr. Epstein.

" The ICI/NBCAM public relations campaign has prevented women from

knowing of avoidable causes of breast cancer, " concluded Dr. Epstein.

 

CONTACT:

Cancer Prevention Coalition

University of Illinois at Chicago

School of Public Health

2121 W. Taylor St., MC 922

Chicago, IL 60612

_________________

JoAnn Guest

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