By Alicia Lukachko, M.P.H.
Posted: Tuesday, October 19, 1999

LETTER
Publication Date: October 19, 1999

To the Editor:

The column "Keeping Breast Cancer in Perspective" conveys a cogent and long overdue message to women: there is no epidemic of breast cancer in this country. Rather, it is the fear of breast cancer not the disease itself, that has reached epidemic proportions.

The positive effort to increase public awareness of breast cancer has had the unfortunate effect of distorting women's perceptions of breast cancer risk.

Breast cancer may monopolize the media, but lung cancer, as Ms. Brody notes, holds the title of the leading cause of cancer death among women. Lung cancer, with only a 12 percent survival rate, is a highly preventable disease. Indeed, almost 90 percent of lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoking. Lung cancer is an important women's health issue. It's about time women were made more aware of this fact.

Source Notes:  
Published in The New York Times—October 19, 1999