Kristi Whitley

Healthy Living

Deadly Deception by The American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen Foundation


In advance, please forgive my bias in this area. I see news reports on the latest findings in breast cancer research and anything from breast cancer charities in a totally different light than most people due to my education and experience. In 2009-10 I took care of and finally buried my best friend of 30 years after her battle with breast cancer. That is were my journey to find out as much about breast cancer as possible began. What I have learned is completely opposite of what I previously held as fact about the disease. This is a very painful subject for me but one about which I am extremely passionate.
 
Follow the money
 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month was co-founded by and is financially sponsored by AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Company. The campaign uses the American Cancer Society as its cover and to give it credibility. Since the ACS receives enormous funds from AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical giant who makes breast cancer drugs has control over every brochure, ad, article, etc. that the ACS puts out. 
 
Susan G. Komen Foundation has also prostituted itself by accepting huge donations from businesses to display the pink ribbon and use their name. Some make a lump sum donation and others give a portion of the sales to the charity. Everything from Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets to sugar-laden cereals will have pink ribbons on them next month. FYI, fried chicken, sugar, and the zillion other preservatives in these products cause cancer. Other products displaying the ribbon will include toilet paper, household cleaners and similar products that either directly cause cancer or pollute the environment to the extent that carcinogens end up in our water and air. Look at the salaries of the executives at the SGK Foundation and you can clearly see that raising money is more important than actually educating people about changing their diet and lifestyle to prevent cancer. (See http://butterbeliever.com/i-will-not-be-pinkwashed-why-i-do-not-support-susan-g-komen-for-the-cure/)
 
Most importantly, forget for a moment that 20% these funds are spent on research that only looks for genes and drugs to cure cancer, and look at the messages to the public regarding cancer cure and prevention.


Komen.org recommends the following (My comments are in Red.):
 
1. Know your risk  
•  Talk to both sides of your family to learn about your family health history (Less than 5% of breast cancers are genetic, why is this the #1 recommendation and what do the other 95% of us do?)
• Talk to your provider about your personal risk of breast cancer
2. Get screened 

  • Talk with your doctor about which screening tests are right for you if you are at a higher risk  

•  Have a mammogram every year starting at age 40 if you are at average risk (Studies show that this amount of radiation concentrated at a vulnerable breast will INSURE that you get breast cancer in your lifetime and that mammography only reduces your risk of death from bc by .04% while increasing your risk of misdiagnosis and over treatment from false positives.)
• Have a clinical breast exam at least every 3 years starting at age 20, and every year starting at age 40 (You can do this at home.)
• Sign up for your screening reminder at www.komen.org/reminder (Here you will be given advertisements from which the SGKF will make more money.)
3. Know what is normal for you. See your health care provider if you notice any of these breast changes:
•  Lump, hard knot or thickening inside the breast or underarm area
•  Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening of the breast
• Change in the size or shape of the breast
• Dimpling or puckering of the skin
• Itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple
• Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast
• Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
• New pain in one spot that doesn't go away
To see illustrations of these warnings signs please visit the Breast Facts section.  
 4. Make healthy lifestyle choices (CRAZY!!! Can you tell what is missing? Hint: diet.) 
• Maintain a healthy weight  (What does that mean? According to Dr. Joel Furhman guidelines including lowest numbers on Weight Watcher's charts are at least 10% too heavy.)
• Add exercise into your routine (How much? What kind? What will the exact benefit be?)
• Limit alcohol intake (What does “limit” mean? 2 glasses per day? Every drink increases bc risk. They should say ELIMINATE alcohol.)
• Limit menopausal hormone use (Another irresponsible blanket statement.)
• Breastfeed, if you can


For an organization with a mission to cure breast cancer, this information is sorely lacking. See my previous comments about the profits. 
 
American Cancer Society recommendations:
 
-  Limit how much processed meat and red meat you eat (Limit? How much is that?)
-  Eat at least 2 ½ cups of vegetables and fruits each day (Research suggests a minimum of 8 servings a day to prevent cancer.)
-  Eat whole grains instead of refined grains (This is meaningless to a nation that only knows whole wheat bread is healthier that white bread.)
-  Drink no more that 1 alcoholic beverage a day for women, 2 for men. (Research shows that every alcoholic beverage increases a woman’s risk of bc.)
-  Stay as slim as possible without being underweight throughout your lifetime. (Relative. Some people think size 18 is slim)
- Stay physically active (Meaningless.)
-  Wear sunscreen. (Most cancer patients are vitamin D deficient, this will make it worse.)
-  Don’t use tobacco


The "healthy eating" section of the website indicates that they have not gotten the 40 years worth of research that links meat and dairy intake with cancer. The rest of the information on diet is straight from the USDA food pyramid. Nothing specific about cancer fighting foods etc. Their mission is to cure cancer. The information on prevention is pitiful and lacking. They should make the strongest statements possible.  Again, no profit is made from people eating a plant-based diet. 
 
Please think before you give money to these charities. Look at www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org and the aforementioned article at butterbeliever.com and ask yourself if there could be a better way for you to spend your charitable dollars.
 
It’s pretty obvious why AstraZeneca wants more women diagnosed with cancer but if you look closer at the cancer industry you can follow the motivation of making huge profits all the way to the hospital. If cancer was actually cured what would we do with all those huge cancer buildings and hospitals?
  
 
http://world-wire.com/2011/10/21/corporate-sponsors-control-mammography-industry-warns-cancer-prevention-coalition/
http://butterbeliever.com/i-will-not-be-pinkwashed-why-i-do-not-support-susan-g-komen-for-the-cure/
www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/
 
Proverbs 19:20-21
Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.