Rep. Carolyn Maloney yesterday announced the latest of numerous bills in Congress aimed at finding environmental causes for breast cancer (in this case, specifically for breast cancer on the East Side of Manhattan), reported today's New York Sun. The Sun went on to quote ACSH Medical Director Dr. Gilbert Ross about why people are so eager to find a mysterious culprit for breast cancer (despite the higher mortality rate from other conditions, such as smoking-induced lung cancer):
"Breast cancer is a cause celebre. It's a very emotional issue...That's not to say we don't have to worry about breast cancer, but breast cancer garners much more attention...The reason: People have this generalized fear that breast cancer is caused by something, some insidious factor, in our environment. Thus, every few years, a new substance is accused of causing breast cancer, then nothing is found to corroborate it."
Read ACSH's report on Cancer Clusters: Findings vs. Feelings to learn why varying disease rates don't necessarily imply an external cause or special local problem.
