Top Ten Pro Prevention Groups

Breast Cancer Fund (www.breastcancerfund.org)
Identifies and advocates for the elimination of the environmental causes of the disease; works from the knowledge that breast cancer is not simply a personal tragedy, but a public health priority that demands action from all. Publishes the excellent annual e-report, State of the Evidence: What is the Connection Between the Environment and Breast Cancer.

Campaign For Safe Cosmetics (www.safecosmetics.org)
A coalition of organizations calling for the elimination of chemicals used in the cosmetics industry that are linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems. The Campaign’s website includes an up –to- date listing of the cosmetic companies that have signed a national voluntary Safe Cosmetics Pact and Skin Deep a directory of 25,000 cosmetics and body care products rated for their safety.

Silent Spring Institute (www.silentspring.org)
This unique research organization conducts critical studies that piece together how environmental exposures may be directly linked to breast cancer. Founded in 1994 by breast cancer survivors who questioned the astronomical breast cancer rates on Cape Cod, the Institute’s internationally acclaimed staff along with their groundbreaking research deserve increased support from individuals, and from all major private and public breast cancer organizations.

Cancer Prevention Coalition (www.preventcancer.com)
A nationwide coalition of leading independent experts in cancer prevention, led by preeminent cancer prevention advocate and legend, Samuel Epstein, M.D. The Coalition’s website includes articles and reports on the breast cancer industry, as well as on mammograms, rBGH milk hormone replacement drugs and other breast cancer risk factors.

Collaborative on Health and the Environment’s (CHE’s) Breast Cancer Working Group (www.healthandenvironment.org) explores the relationship between environmental exposures and breast cancer, and has recently developed the 2006 Consensus Statement on Breast Cancer and the Environment. More than 40 U.S. and international breast cancer prevention groups have now signed the statement. Notably absent from the list are Susan Komen for the Cure, Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the American Cancer Society.

National Women’s Health Network (www.nwhn.org)
Gives women a greater voice within the healthcare system. They have become an information clearinghouse and national watchdog regarding the questionable safety of silicone breast implants.

Cornell Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (http://envirocancer.cornell.edu)
A wonderful source of extensive research that examines the links between breast cancer and environmental risk factors.

Breast Cancer Action (www.bcaction.org)
Called, “the bad girls of breast cancer”, Breast Cancer Action is a national membership organization focused on ending the breast cancer epidemic. Their Think Before You Pink Campaign (www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org) asks women to understand the profit- centered goals of companies that use pink ribbon advertising campaigns.

Environmental Defense (www.environmentaldefense.org)
Founded in 1967 as the Environmental Defense Fund, the group speaks for 500,000 members, as they find innovative, practical ways to solve the most urgent environmental problems. ED was a party to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, requiring the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases, and requiring refurbished power plants to meet current environmental standards. Their directory, www.scorecard.org, tells you how bad the pollution is within your zip code. It also tells you which companies are doing the most polluting, and the subsequent health risks.

Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org)
Comprised of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers who pore over government data, legal documents, scientific studies and their own laboratory tests to expose threats to our health and the environment, and to find solutions. To find out if your favorite shampoo or cosmetic line contains parabens or other possible breast cancer risk factors, go to Skin Deep, their directory of 25,000 cosmetics and personal care products.

Organic Consumers Association (www.organicconsumers.org)
Advocates for health, justice and sustainability. Their website is a wonderful compilation of breast cancer prevention information from around the world.

We’ve become efficient at processing more and more sick people without identifying promising avenues of prevention.

Devra Lee Davis - Director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, author of The Secret History of the War on Cancer, Basic Book, 2007.