Life's Delicate Balance
Causes and Prevention of Breast Cancer
by Janette D. Sherman, M.D.

Excerpts from Chapter 12
THE BREAST CANCER EPIDEMIC ON LONG ISLAND

"In this now universal contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister and little recognized partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world -- the very nature of life."
-- Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

The old story about the drunk searching beneath a glowing street light for his lost car keys bears retelling.  When asked why he wasn't searching across the street, closer to his car, he said, "the light is better here."  It is becoming clear that much cancer research is conducted in the same way: not necessarily to find anything of significance, but that's where it's easier, and perhaps from the political point of view, safer as well.  And of course, that's where the money is.

The Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project (LIBCSP) is a case in point.  In the late 1980s women on Long Island became increasingly aware that their mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbors, and friends were being diagnosed with breast cancer. Asking why, one answer was that because the cancers appeared to be occurring in upper socioeconomic Jewish women, that must be the reason.  Needless to say this explanation was unsatisfactory to everyone: Jewish, non-Jewish, rich, poor and middle class. Fortunately, the women came together, formed groups and pressed for answers, ultimately getting the attention of Congress.

The LIBCSP was initiated by Congress in 1993.  The Congressional Act directed the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in cooperation with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), to "conduct a case-control study to assess biological markers of environmental and other potential risk factors contributing to the incidence of breast cancer" in women living on Long Island.  

...

Review of the "Results" portion of the "Background" document of Dr. Marilie Gammon's part of the study reveals another interesting point of view:  The very narrow approach taken to the issue of cancer-causing chemicals, limiting the categories to "possible human breast carcinogens" and further limiting the list to DDT, DDE, PCBs and chlordane.  Moreover, there is no provision to assay body fat samples for suspect chemicals.

Aside from being chlorinated organic chemicals with known toxic effects, what do these chemicals have in common?  These named chemicals have already been banned!  That means no corporate entity will be embarrassed and on-the-line to stop production of any of the products in the US.  It means also that other carcinogenic and hormonally-active chemicals, known to have been used on Long Island, are not under scrutiny in the Long Island breast cancer epidemic.

Citing lack of funds to include chemicals other than DDT, DDE, PCBs and chlordane poses the question if this decision was to avoid offending a chemical manufacturer, supplier or user of other candidate chemicals.  Given that breast cancer is not the only cancer nor the only serious medical problem on Long Island, this restricted view suggests a certain lack of perspective about connections between environmental factors, endocrine disruption, birth defects, other cancers, and other illnesses.

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