Role of pollutants in breast cancer probed by
experts.
Communities must heed environmental pollutants
such as electromagnetic radiation more closely and
demand vigorous government action to curb these
potential health hazards, according to Puerto Rico's
delegates to the recent World Conference on Breast
Cancer held in Canada.
Women need to learn more about breast cancer, its
prevention and alternative treatments, said Dr. Iris
Zabala Martinez and researcher Tania Garcia Ramos,
the island's representatives at the conference. The
activity, which ran from July 13-17, drew 650
delegates from around the world.
A key point made at the conference, according to
the local delegates, was the close connection between
environmental factors and breast cancer, an illness
that kills more than one million women worldwide each
year. In Puerto Rico, the incidence of this type of
cancer has more than doubled since 1900, from one in
47 women to one in 18 women in 1991.
"The scientific debate has grown
stronger," said Garcia Ramos, the daughter of
environmental activist Neftali Garcia, at a news
conference on Tuesday. But she added, these hazards
"still are not being taken seriously."
Environmental pollutants may contribute up to 80
percent of breast cancer cases, participants were
told by experts who challenged communities world-wide
to take action despite lack of conclusive scientific
evidence.
Experts at the conference noted that fewer than 7
percent of cancer cases are linked to heredity,
meaning other factors are at play. Increasingly, the
blame is being put on environmental pollutants such
as household cleansers, pesticides in food and
electromagnetic field radiation emitted by computers,
cellular phones and microwaves.
"The emphasis on the environmental aspects
was the innovative aspect of the conference",
said Garcia Ramos, who with Zabala is a member of
Taller Salud. This women's health organisation has
been increasing breast cancer awareness in
communities island-wide in the past year.
"While doing away with environmental
hazards is impossible, Garcia Ramos and her Taller
Salud colleague Nirvana Gonzalez Rosa emphasized the
importance of minimizing individual exposure. Thus,
people should avoid standing in front of microwave
ovens, reduce using cellular phones and hair dryers,
and take regular breaks from sitting in front of a
computer. Computer screen shields also afford some
protection", advised Gonzalez Rosa.
A major scourge of industrialised countries,
breast cancer is now starting to climb in
non-developed countries in tandem with their rising
modernization. Right now, however, the highest
incidence of breast cancer is found in North America
where the rate is 84.4 cases for each 100,000
inhabitants or one in every eight women.
The conference also highlighted current breast
cancer research and treatment, focusing attention on
controversial preventative measures. These included
the practice of recommending that women with a
breast-associated gene have a mastectomy, regular
mammo-grams for women over 50 years of age and the
use of Tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen, as a preventive
strategy. Zabala said researchers warned of potential
risks associated with giving Tamoxifen, a drug used
in treating cancer patients, to healthy women in
clinical trials designed to test its
cancer-prevention virtues. "These women are at
risk of developing endometrial cancer and ocular
problems", she said. It is unclear if trials are
currently under way in Puerto Rico.
