Preventing Breast Cancer - The Politics of an Epidemic
By Dr. Cathy Read
Published by Pandora
London 1995
250 Pages UK £7.99
Paperback
ISBN 0 04 440909 5

Three hundred women die every week from breast cancer in the UK. This toll has crept up gradually and it is now of epidemic proportions. Cathy Read's book represents the beginning of a backlash against our passivity in the face of this inexorable disease. She says:

"It is the leading cause of death among young women aged 35-54. These women leave young families, devastated partners and successful careers. The older women who die in far greater numbers from breast cancer have not retired from society; they are partners, carers and beloved grandmothers and they, too are sorely missed."

The Women's Environmental Network (WEN) particular interest is in the environmental influences considered in the book which include pesticides and other chemicals, especially those which mimic or disrupt oestrogen's action in the body as well as ionising radiation and electromagnetic radiation, for example from power lines.

In our opinion it is not possible to comprehend the complex effects of many such chemicals acting together; however, enough evidence exists for precautionary action to be taken, i.e. banning the suspect chemicals which are also associated with other male and female reproductive disorders such as falling sperm count. Instead of the cancer being the impetus to make us change we have behaved as if breast cancer is an inevitable burden that women have to bear in silence. However, the prevailing attitude to such chemicals is to wait for proof. This attitude has many other polluting consequences; it is beginning to change, but must do so faster so that we do not continue to repeat the chemical mistakes of the past.

Breast cancer appears to be caused by many aspects of modern society including our attitude to persistent synthetic chemicals. However, the medical establishment seems unwilling to address causes. In WEN's experience medical experts also appear to resent any questions about possible chemical causes and they underestimate the ability of women to change their lifestyle or diet. Where causes are mentioned at all the individual "lifestyle" factors are emphasised. Women have rightly condemned this victim blaming approach.

Cathy Read makes a plea for addressing the causes of breast cancer in a societal way. Late childbearing is associated with a greater risk of breast cancer but in developed countries education and career prospects can suffer if we have children in our early twenties, so this is not a real choice for most women. Breast feeding is thought to lower a woman's risk of breast cancer but is inadequately encouraged and is often unwelcome in public. As she says, the means for making healthy choices genuinely available are with governments rather than only on the individual and so are a political matter.

Trends in the South to adopting the Northern industrial lifestyle mean that breast cancer rates are rising there, "As the northern industrial lifestyle is imported to these countries, so is the northern industrial rate of breast cancer," with the increase most dramatic in countries with previously very low rates such as Japan and China.

However, we are not helpless in the face of these trends. As Cathy Read says, "If the rate of breast cancer has gone up, then it can come down." In the US, activists have succeeded in diverting a considerable portion of the defence budget for breast cancer research, including investigation of environmental causes.

In this country little has been done in terms of "real" prevention. Most of the many charities that support women with breast cancer are not militant about the causes of the disease.

Prevention entails woman being active and consulted in all areas that affect their future, treatment and aftercare. It should include positive information on affordable, accessible preventative means relating to diet, treatment, exercise and the environment.

Cathy Read suggests that if we change our diet and cut down on chemical pollutants, in order to prevent breast cancer, we will solve many other environmental problems. This move down the food chain would also be a less wasteful use of land. Greater demand for organic produce would necessitate a move away from high intensity, pesticide dependent agriculture which would serve to benefit us all.

She quotes Devra Lee Davis, Senior Adviser to the US Secretary of Health,

"One may speculate about why so little attention has been paid to efforts to prevent a disease that afflicts so many women, but the fact of this deficit remains glaringly clear. Prevention is less glamorous than treatment and fewer profit financially if it succeeds."

This excellent and accessible reference book puts breast cancer in its political and environmental context and combats the individual private victim syndrome which threatens women, whether the suspected cause is lifestyle or chemicals. It empowers women to deal with the causes, as many are beginning to do.

Cathy Read's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and it was this originally inspired her to write the book. As a well established science writer she has lucidly explained both the scientific complexities and the societal implications. She has examined these issues in a balanced way; this is not a book that assumes that environmental pollution inevitably causes breast cancer and is all the more impressive for that. It is an excellent and accessible reference.

Breast cancer is a disease horribly symbolic of women's position in society. Once women have breast cancer they are at the mercy of mainly male medical expertise. Women need to come out of the closet about their breast cancer but this can be frightening in a society that worships breasts but only in pairs. Women need to regain power by challenging accepted medical practice and reducing the need for pharmaceutical and surgical butchery.

Ann Link and Helen Lynn are Science and Health Coordinators in WEN respectively.
This review also appeared in "The Ecologist" - in early 1996.

About these pages: Contact Nina Pope- UKBCA@somewhere.org.uk