Palak Raval-nelson

Breast Cancer Politics:: an Evaluation of the Current Research Funding Policies Palak Raval-nelson

Breast cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality for women in the United States. It is estimated that every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and every twelve minutes a woman dies from this disease. Research has identified three potential causes for breast cancer: genetics, lifestyle choices and the environment. Genetics and lifestyle choices contribute to less than 30% of breast cancer cases; the remaining 70% of all cases can be linked to the environment and environmental carcinogens. Environmental carcinogens can be found in cosmetics, household cleaning materials, and as by products of pollution, such as PCBs and organochlorides. Elimination of environmental carcinogens would lead to prevention. Despite this fact, research funding policies tend to neglect the role of environmental carcinogens which have been linked to breast cancer and instead fund research for new screening and treatment methods.