Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2016
Can't believe this is my 3rd Pink October. It seems like only yesterday that I heard a doctor say those awful words. How my life has changed! This year I want everyone, particularly young women and parents of young girls, to realize that stage 4 metastatic breast cancer rates have been steadily increasing in women between ages 25 and 39 according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Since my diagnosis, I have met several very young women without genetic predisposition, who were diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer before age 30. One young woman was still in high school at the time of diagnosis! The article cited by the ACS hypothesizes this increase in young women could be due to environmental toxins rather than genetic causes.
With this in mind, instead of buying pink ribbon products this October, I ask everyone to reduce their exposure to toxic chemicals in food, cosmetics, cleaners, and household products by choosing green products. Please read labels carefully and choose products free from toxic chemicals. Since 80% of breast cancers are hormone driven, try to avoid endocrine disrupting chemicals, which are found in pesticides, herbicides, plastics, personal care and household products. Buy meat and dairy that is free from added hormones. Small children are especially vulnerable as are those who have already been diagnosed with breast cancer. For more information on this topic: www.breastcancerfund.org.
After my diagnosis, I made a conscious effort to eliminate as many toxins as I could from my life. I began using natural, environmentally safe cleaning products like baking soda and vinegar, which cost less and work better than many commercially sold products. I eat organic food and use cosmetics that are toxin free. I use glass containers instead of plastic to store food. Breastcancer.org has a great booklet “Think Pink, Live Green” that can be downloaded here: http://
Please join me in reading labels and making smart choices. If you can’t identify or pronounce all the ingredients in a product or packaged food item, there’s a good chance it may not be good for you. Generally speaking, the fewer the ingredients, the safer or healthier the product. Let’s vote both with our wallets and at the polls for environmentally responsible methods of farming and manufacturing. Our lives are worth more than corporate profits.
