The No More Breast Cancer campaign argues that many cases of breast cancer are linked to cancer-causing agents in the environment and in our bodies.
- In the environment - cancer-causing chemicals are present in detergents, pesticides and plastics approved for everyday use by government. Of around 100,000 man-made chemicals polluting our environment, there are more than 500 man-made chemicals that are thought to disrupt the hormones in the body and mimic the role of oestrogen - a hormone closely linked with the development of breast cancer.
- In our bodies - over 400 man-made chemicals have been found in human blood and body tissue. Cancer-causing substances and hormone-disrupting chemicals are included in this 'toxic burden'.
No More Breast Cancer argues that lifelong, low-level exposure to the cocktail of toxins and hormone disruptors both at home and at work is linked to the ever-rising rates of breast cancer.
Facts about breast cancer
Latest government figures indicate that the incidence of breast cancer in the UK has risen 80 per cent in the past 30 years.- Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 35.
- The lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in women is 1 in 9.
- 12,300 women die every year from breast cancer.
- 43,000 women and 300 men are diagnosed every year.
- In women aged 35-54 years, breast cancer is the most common cause of all deaths, accounting for 17% of all deaths.
What of the other 50 per cent- A substantial number of animal, human, laboratory and field studies carried out over the past seven decades provide significant evidence that man-made environmental agents play a part in human diseases such as breast cancer. We believe it's time for the government, industry and the cancer establishment as a whole to address the environmental risk factors for this disease.
About the No More Breast Cancer campaign
While there are, rightly, considerable resources dedicated to screening and treatment, there is very little attention or funding given to the 'environmental' part of the breast-cancer jigsaw puzzle.
- We believe that to prevent many cases from happening in the first place, and to stop the quickening pace of new diagnoses, we have to ask: what is the cause of one in every two cases where the accepted risk factors don't apply
- We want to look at the role of pollutants such as pesticides and chemicals, and to ensure that those that are part of our toxic burden are reduced, modified or eliminated from the environment - providing meaningful prevention of the disease at source.
- Chemicals, pesticides and other pollutants could lie at the heart of understanding why the incidence of breast cancer continues to rise at epidemic rates. Until all key players acknowledge this, it is a part of the prevention debate that we ignore at our peril.
The No More Breast Cancer campaign calls for:
- government, industry and the mainstream cancer establishment to acknowledge that 'lifestyle factors' (lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol) and 'established risk factors' (obesity, age, late-onset menopause, late first pregnancy) do not adequately account for the alarming rise in breast cancer rates
- acknowledgement that low-level, life-long exposure to a toxic cocktail of cancer-causing chemicals and hormone disruptors in our everyday environment is linked to the rising incidence of this disease
- a strategic plan to reduce our exposure to environmental pollutants that prioritises primary prevention - not just early detection - of the disease
- a national programme to establish which chemical pollutants are in breast tissue, and breast milk (while supporting breast-feeding), and to monitor their health effects
- research into the long-term health of people who minimise their own chemical exposures, for example by eating an exclusively organic diet
- investment in developing more green technologies that offer alternatives to our current dependency on toxic chemicals found in everyday products.
We have a fully referenced version of this page available with details of all sources used.
Download the full or summary version of our report, Breast cancer: an environmental disease (around 1mb each), on which this website is based, or see our brief summary of shocking statistics on breast cancer.