Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here’s what it’s about:
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. There has been a great deal of controversy about the optimal frequency and timing of mammograms for early detection, but most of the experts agree that once women pass the age of 50, regular mammograms make a difference.
The question of why breast cancer has become so common and how it might be prevented is separate from the problem of mammograms. We talk with Florence Williams about breasts, implants, breast-feeding and breast milk, and how environmental contaminants that act as endocrine disruptors may affect the breasts. Are they contributing to the rising toll of breast cancer? What are the effects of compounds like DDT, perchlorate or flame retardants on the developing infant? Both individual and societal action are needed to protect us all–men, women and children–from the possible harmful effects of environmental chemicals.
For more information on breast cancer, see the National Cancer Institute,
The National Library of Medicine, the Breast Cancer Fund, and the Silent Spring Institute.
There is also information on the clinical trials page of the National Cancer Institute and the Association of Cancer Online Resources.
Guest: Florence Williams is an award-winning journalist who has written for the New York Times, Outside magazine and Slate, among other publications. Her book is Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History. Her website is florencewilliams.com The photo of Florence Williams was taken by Corrynn Cochran.
The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free after the date of broadcast.
