Huffington Post article by Dr. Weiss

I'm with Designer Mom - WOW - I'm really surprised that so many of you felt the article was an attack, placing blame on you for your breast cancer.  I had 5 children, the 1st four when I was under 25, breast fed them all, never took the pill, or any HRT.  Ate moderately healthy.  When I was diagnosed I was overweight, had a high stress job and very low vitamin D levels.  I doubt if I could have stopped the breast cancer, but who knows what triggered it.  I don't believe that I caused my cancer and no one can make me feel bad about my life style, if I were to do it it over I would be more cautious about what I ate, getting exercise, reducing stress, but I can't change the past, all I can do is improve my future.  I've read Maria Weiss's book and also AntiCancer by David Sevan Schreiber, they have great information and ideas about changes that MAY reduce your risk of recurrance.  I don't know about you, but I don't really want to do this again and am willing to make changes that may reduce my risks of recurrance.  The studies show that diet, exercise, stress reduction, ... can effect your risk of recurrance, as well as decrease your risk of heart disease, high blood preassure, type II diabetes, why not do them.  Sure I wish I had done them earlier, but I didn't, and I'm not saying that I wouldn't have gotten the cancer even if I had, but I've been given a new life going forward and I want it to be better than my old life, and, hopefully, cancer free.  So I'm going to take control of the parts of my life that I can, and at the very least I'll feel and look better, at best keep the cancer beast at bay. 

Rabbit: I have the following problem with your posts: you don't post enough! Hugs.

I will just repeat something I said earlier: I would be very happy if I could know, for an undisputable fact, that I did something to cause my bc. I have no problem with personal responsibility. Knowing gives me more power to change my ways so that I can avoid future BC (for those of us who still have the luxury of thinking that way). My only problem is that personal responsibility must be affixed accurately, and the causes of any given disease musrt be spelled out in full. In BC, scientific knowledge is not there yet.

This means, in an ideal world, that I would love to have the following information - and let's pretend, for the sake of argument, that it is scientifcally accurate:

"Athena" you got bc because you drank polluted water and you smoked. Also, you once lived in an area high in pollution.

I would take information like that and : a) stop smoking b) drink filtered water and c) know that there were factors I could not control.

As it is, we only have associations and hypotheses of a myriad of factors, some within our control as individuals, some only within our control as a society (eg: pollution) and others that we can do nothing about (inheritance). So any campaign that puts too much emphasis on any single of these factors is incomplete. I was not offended by the Huffpost article; I just thought it didn't go a quarter as far as we need to. What is more, this and other BC campaigns need to clarify that specific lifestyle factors have not yet been established as indisputable causes; there are still only associations along with hypotheses. //

Early stage cancer is like crossing the Mafia and getting away with it. You live, but must forever glance over your shoulder.
Diagnosis: 3/2009, IDC, 3cm, Stage IIb, Grade 3, 3/8 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-

2ztus: Again, just reread your own post. This part, especially:

but don't ascribe motivations to me of which you have absolutely no personal knowledge.

That was perhaps the chief problem I had with your post to me. There is no good will in your exchanges with me, so I will put you on ignore. Maybe that will calm you down a bit. You can go on to respond with anything you like and I won't answer. The floor is eternally yours - how about it....

Do we truly need to snipe at one another?  Haven't we all been hurt enough to last a lifetime?  Isn't there a more advanced way to frame our thoughts that lends itself to mutual exploration of perspectives vs. bias?  Can't we learn from each other... what an amazing opportunity this is... a crossection of women around the globe... all needing each other. 

If we could treat cancer as though it were literally an airborne disease - a pandemic that requires interventions at all levels of society, we might get closer to a cure or a vaccine. I wish it could be addressed with the same urgency as AIDS or a new, very deadly flu strain. One thing cancer has in common with those others is that anyone can get it.

Amen to that Starbeauty!

I didn't object as much to the content of the article in-so-far as the promotion of healthy eating and such, but what I did object to was the marketing tactics used by partnering with an company.

Wow, I have to say I'm really disappointed by this article too.  I deeply respect Dr. Weiss for lots of reasons, but this feels like a slap in the face.  Seriously - "Breast Cancer Prevention: A Huge Missed Opportunity???" 

I'd love to know exactly how I "missed the opportunity" to prevent my breast cancer. Gahhh. How insulting, misleading, and oversimplified.

The wording used implies a causative effect that simply does not exist as of today.  I get so sick of hearing the tired cliche, "prevention is the best cure."   Ummm, no - prevention prevents breast cancer from happening. "Cure"  fixes breast cancer after it happens.  

Encouraging and emphasizing healthy diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices is admirable.  Rallying for political, environmental, manufacturing, and societal health-conscious changes is wonderful.  Implying that if only I had eaten Stonyfield yogurt as a developing teenager, I would have had the opportunity to prevent my breast cancer is just insulting.   AS IF....!

Is Stonyfield the yogurt with the black and white cow on the label? If so, until i moved to Toronto three years ago, it's the only yogurt I ate and I developed breast cancer....I guess they wouldn't want me as their poster girl. Like many of you have already mentioned, I also object to the partnering with a company and the oversimplified message.

kittymama - me too re. the Stonybrook yogurt... then you see cancer diets with "avoid all milk products"... so which is it???  Which would have saved me... the yogurt or the avoidance... or neither?  They don't know...

I don't see any reference on their website either - but I do have to say that by putting a clip & link to "Food Inc." right on their site they are setting the bar mighty high for themselves - I hope they do and continue to hold their ground if their product is as pure as they imply. 

Although I eat way too much dairy (organic and non), I actually am not in the "dairy is good for us" camp.  I think a vegan diet is probably healthier. I am glad most milk producers have stopped using rBGH, although I don't know if the same holds true for cheese producers (as I spread Philly cream cheese on my swiss melt bagel...).  

Reading all these posts it looks like I am the only one who is a "poster child" for getting BC.

I got period early, had my son late (at 36), used IVF, no breastfeeding, no regular exercise, kept weight in normal range with yo-yo dieting. Add stress in mixture by leaving my country and family at age 24 and first time seeing them 11 years later.

The only thing I did not do was use of HRT, but then I am too young for them.

To be honest I would be really surprised if I did not get it.

Re: miscarriages, I had two and I think there is connection in my case due to hormonal inbalance.

Barbe .. I think you're onto something.  We KNOW we didn't cause our cancer, but I think sometimes articles like this that suggest there is something you can do to prevent it can paint an unrealistic picture.

I did everything right, except for HRT for four years before my diagnosis.

I did have a very close friend suggest to me that I caused my cancer due to an unresolved emotional issue.  I had no idea what the hell she was talking about.  She read it in a book.  I flat out told her that wasn't true .. I don't care what the book said.

Bren

I hear you Linda, I didn't either, but the problem is that our peers are going to read more articles like this one and begin to place blame.

Off-topic: Thanks Kittymamma! I love it too, especially with a black backless evening dress!

I hear you Linda, I didn't either, but the problem is that our peers are going to read more articles like this one and begin to place blame.

BARBE - NO ONE said that...why is it that you all keep going back to the blame game instead of reading the scientific articles