It is expected that approximately 1.5 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States during the year 2008. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 600,000 Americans are expected to die of cancer in 2008, or more than 1,600 people per day [1].
More specifically in 2008 it is also estimated that 180,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 41,000 women will die from the disease [2]. Breast cancer rates have nearly tripled in the United States over the last 60 years making it the second most common cancer in women. The lifetime risk for a woman to develop breast cancer in 1940 was 1 in 22. In 2008 it is now up to 1 in 8, and will probably continue to rise [3]. The probability of a woman contracting any form of cancer in the United States is an astonishing 1 in 3 [4].
Similar increases can be seen in “developed” countries such as England, Japan, and Denmark. Within the European Union a woman dies of breast cancer every 7.5 minutes [5] making it the number one killer of women between the ages of 34 and 54. These are “developed” nations, with increased screening through mammograms, breast exams, and regular doctor visits. What can help to explain this drastic increase?
The genetic component of breast cancer (BRCA-1 and BRCA-2) plays an important role, yet how much of the recent increase in breast cancer does genetics actually account for? Ponder these next three statements. Only 5% of breast cancers are thought to be due to the inheritance of a particular gene [6]. There is no history of breast cancer among female relatives in over 75% of patients [7]. Research today has proven the BRCA-1 gene isn’t a guaranteed cancer sentence and the un-mutated BRCA-1 gene actually plays a role in DNA repair, protecting a woman from breast cancer [8]. Therefore, the recent climb in breast cancer rates cannot be solely explained by genetics.
A fact worth exploring is “the risk [of breast cancer] is higher among women born after 1940, presumably due to promotional effects of hormonal factors” [9]. Breast tissue is estrogen-dependent, this is why the breasts will become larger when a woman takes birth control pills or becomes pregnant. Besides estrogens the body makes there is also a substantial number of estrogen mimicking, disrupting and promoting substances, both natural and manmade, that we are exposed to in our environment every day. This poses a significant question: are environmental toxins acting on the breast tissue and increasing your risk of cancer? A plausible answer is given by Colbom et. al. “because total estrogen exposure is the single most important risk factor for breast cancer, estrogenic chemicals, toxins and compounds, which would add to this lifelong exposure, are an obvious suspect when searching for the cause of rising rates (of breast cancer) over the past half century” [10]. Although no firm data correlation exists across all breast cancer cases it is certainly more than plausible that estrogen and estrogen like substances are contributing to the increase in these cancers in the modern era.
History will show us that the idea of industrial and environmental toxins inducing cancer is not a new one. We have known for over a hundred years that manmade chemicals can cause cancer. Way back in 1895 aniline dyes, made from coal tar, were proven to cause bladder cancer [11]. Later on during the environmentalist movements of the 1960’s Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring. In this book she exposed the known and proposed health hazards of the pesticide DDT while also warning us about many other chemicals that we surround ourselves with everyday of our lives. Since the writing of the Silent Spring medical research has mounted in support of her claims. Today we know convincingly that DDT’s metabolites, especially p,pi-DDE, increases the progression, and risk, of hormone-dependent breast cancer [12].
Between 1938 and 1971, an estimated 5 to 10 million pregnant women in the United States were encouraged to take DES (Diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic estrogen, which was originally prescribed by doctors for women who were at risk for miscarriage. Not coincidentally, in 1970, a rare cancer called Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma (CCA) began to show up in unprecedented numbers of young women. Studies were performed to answer the rising number of questions and in 1971 and 1972 DES was identified as a cause of this cancer in young women who had been exposed to DES in the womb [13].
Researchers have also found that DES daughters are 40 times more likely to develop cancer of the vagina and cervix than women who were not exposed to the drug [14]. We know estrogenic compounds can cause and promote cancer.
Medical research is mounting a huge collection of evidence showing that our environment, and the toxins we are all exposed to, increases the likelihood of breast cancer and cancer in general. Studies show that hormone (endocrine) disrupting chemicals can act together and that small, seemingly insignificant quantities of individual chemicals can have major cumulative effects on the body [15]. Multiple estrogenic chemicals can collect in the body and act together to produce unknown effects, even when each individual component is believed to be within the considered “safe zone” set by the EPA.
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals capable of disrupting the normal functioning of the endocrine system, and may pose a growing threat to human and wildlife health. These compounds can modulate both the endocrine and immune systems resulting in alteration of homeostasis, reproduction, development and behavior [16].
The endocrine and reproductive effects of these chemicals are believed to be due to their ability to: (1) mimic the effect of endogenous (produced in the body) hormones, (2) antagonize the effect of endogenous hormones, (3) disrupt the synthesis and metabolism of endogenous hormones, and (4) disrupt the synthesis and metabolism of hormone receptors [17].
From heavy metals to industrial accidents to conventional medicine, your body is being exposed to and storing these endocrine disruptors. Studies have shown the heavy metal mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd), mimic the effects of estradiol in estrogen-responsive breast cancer cell lines [18] and potentiate cancer growth [19]. Cadmium is found in cigarette smoke, certain art supplies, and is usually a component of air pollution. Mercury is a universal contaminant we are all exposed to.
A study of 981 Italian women, who were exposed to dioxin (a toxic chemical formed during combustion and paper bleaching), from an industrial explosion in 1976, showed a significantly increased risk of breast cancer when the data was compiled and evaluated [20].
Even modern medicine has to take its share of the blame. Antibiotics have been instrumental in our health, in certain situations, yet when over prescribed they stress the liver, create dysbiosis (imbalance of bowel flora) and leave residues or metabolites that can add to the toxic mixture in your body. “When they analyzed all the information they were able to gather, the researchers found that the more antibiotics women used, the greater their breast cancer risk was" [21] .
With all of this information and research helping us to understand how our environment can be increasing our risk of breast cancer, among other diseases, it seems only logical to take steps to protect your loved ones and ourselves. The environmental medicine movement is picking up momentum and people are beginning to understand that we really do live in a toxic world. “The world that surrounds us; including the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink; is full of toxins. Many of these toxins are known carcinogens (cancer causing), and the vast majority have never been studied for their effects on humans” [22].
The effects on the body are complex and are influenced by many factors, including the route and site of exposure (skin, oral, injection, inhalation etc), the timing, the duration and frequency of exposure, and the susceptibility of the individual exposed. Although, some of the pieces are still unclear, we do know that there are many chemicals in our environment that cause cancer. We also know that everyone has these toxins, to some degree, stored in their body. “Our findings revealed that under the current regulatory system, toxic chemicals from consumer products and industrial pollution contaminate each of us and threaten our health” [23].
We need to start the movement of prevention in the breast cancer world, and I don’t mean things like preventive mastectomies. Find a physician who is trained in preventative medicine because breast exams and mammograms only detect, they do not prevent breast cancer. Detection without prevention is like standing on the train tracks, watching a train roll towards you, and being content that after you get hit the medical community will try to put you back together. When possible, use prevention, and step off the tracks.
References:
1) http://www.petscaninfo.com/zportal/portals/pat/cancer
2) Cancer.org
3) The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 18th Edition, Merck Research Laboratories 2006,p 2112
4) American Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/STT/stt_0_2005.asp?sitearea=STT&level=1
5) Stella Kyriakides, President of Europa Donna, the European Breast Cancer Coalition. Sue Claridge, in ‘The Beacon’ (Breast Cancer Network Australia’s magazine) Issue 29,Summer 2004 p10
6) http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/cancer/Slide35
7) Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment, 45th Edition, Lange 2006, p682
8) http://heal
Dr. Garrett Wdowin
Dr. Garrett Wdowin is co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Bodhi Body Integrative Medical Centers. Dr. Wdowin is a licensed Naturopathic physician who specializes in environmental medicine, specifically chronic disease and its relationship with environmental toxins. Dr. Wdowin is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and the American College for Advancement in Medicine. Dr. Wdowin received his BA from Brown University, his medical degree from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, and has spent the last few years working in the valley with an integrated team of D.O.'s, N.D.'s, and an M.D.(H).
Latest posts by Dr. Garrett Wdowin (see all)
- Breast Thermography – A “Heated” Discussion About Your Breasts - November 27, 2009
- Why All the Fuss About Bisphenol A (BPA)? - October 26, 2009
- Breast Cancer and your Environment: There is a Connection. - October 7, 2009
