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Early Puberty

  • Breast Cancer Risk Reduction and ZBC’s Girls’ New Puberty Campaign

    Parents teach a young African American girl how to ride a bike.

    Our materials for Girls’ New Puberty are helping parents and caregivers of girls under 8 years old reduce the likelihood of early puberty. You may ask yourself, why does it matter to an organization whose goal is to prevent breast cancer whether girls start developing early?

  • Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Education: A Special Partnership with the Safeway Foundation and Safeway Customers!

    Safeway GNP Funding Blog Image for web

    Every spring the Safeway Foundation focuses on Cancer as one of a dozen causes it cares about. Safeway customers make generous donations at the point of sale in their local Safeway stores in Northern California. For the past 12 years the NorCal Safeway Foundation has considered requests for funding to support the vision of Zero Breast Cancer and generously contributed a total of over $146,000 to date.

  • California Health Report Publishes CYGNET Story

    early puberty trend

    MEDIA ALERT: The California Health Report publishes the latest article on the CYGNET Study and early onset puberty in young girls

  • Earlier Onset of Puberty in Girls Linked to Obesity

    rachael cornejo by raphael kluzniokIn 2003, Zero Breast Cancer collaborated with scientists from Kaiser Division of Research and UCSF to establish a Bay Area Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program which was funded by the National Institute of Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute.

  • Folleto de actividades saludables para mayores de 5 años

     Spanish Activity Booklet pages colored with pens

    ¡Estamos ampliando nuestra lista de materiales previos a la pubertad! Además de la campaña La nueva pubertad de las niñas dirigida a padres/cuidadores, ahora tenemos un folleto de actividades para niñas y niños de 5 años en adelante. Descargue e imprima nuestro Folleto de actividades saludables: ¡Ser saludable se trata de sentirse lo mejor posible!

  • Get to Know ZBC Partners: Dallas Drotz

    Dallas and daughters for web

    In the third of our Get to Know ZBC Partnersinterview series, we talked to Dallas Drotz of Drotz Design. Dallas is a versatile creative talent with excellent listening skills, a thirst for knowledge, a big heart and unending patience! Dallas was introduced to ZBC in 2015 when we needed to find a way to turn the science about early puberty into a health and wellness campaign. It all started with a series of mood boards and the rest is history. Today the body of work that Dallas has teamed with ZBC to create includes infographics in EnglishSpanish, and Chinese; a micro-site in English and Spanish, and a YouTube series in EnglishSpanish, and Chinese!

  • Get to Know ZBC Partners: Ian Walker

    Ian Walker Hurricane Images Inc for webIn this month’s Get to Know ZBC Partners series, we interviewed Ian Walker, owner of Hurricane Images. Ian's health education expertise combined with his skills in editing videos and sound recording have been an invaluable asset to the Girls’ New Puberty campaign. He created the Youth Advisory Board videos for the Girls’ New Puberty microsite, which are also available on YouTube in English and Spanish. Then, he recorded the narration and edited the videos for our animated tips series in English, Spanish, and Chinese. We are always grateful for his support of ZBC’s mission and are excited to share his background and insights with you. 

  • Healthy Activity Booklet for Ages 5+

    On top of a coffee table sits markers and ZBC's Healthy Activity Booklet pages that have been colored.

    We’re expanding our pre-puberty materials! In addition to the Girls’ New Puberty resources directed at parents/caregivers, we now have an activity booklet for girls (and all kids) ages 5+. Download and print our Healthy Activity Booklet: Being Healthy is About Feeling Our Best!

    The booklet promotes lifelong health and wellness by providing healthy action ideas to color and asking girls to draw what they like to do. There’s also a bingo activity at the end that encourages girls to follow some of the actions suggested. Topic areas include moving more, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, managing stress, and limiting exposure to chemicals. While it was made with girls in mind, it is not exclusively for girls. All kids who snap a picture of their favorite completed page and email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will receive a certificate and, with a parent/guardian's permission, have the image posted on our Girls' New Puberty Facebook page.

  • How to Help Kids Overcome Stress and Insufficient Sleep by Ruth Riley

    Kids at table from unsplash by keren fedida

    Is your child struggling with anxiety, stress, and frequent tantrums? It could be that they need to get more sleep.

    Sleep is an essential bodily function that allows the mind and body to recharge. Not having enough of it can affect a child’s ability to concentrate, process information, and think clearly(1).

    Sleep quality plays an essential role in a child’s physical and mental health. Children who often don’t get enough sleep eventually experience a host of other problems(2).

  • Introducing Spanish-language Girls' New Puberty Eguide

    ZBC New Puberty Spanish Promo Graphic for web

    Zero Breast Cancer has just finished producing La guía de las niñas y la nueva pubertad, a Spanish-language translation of our Girls’ New Puberty Eguide! This guide expands upon the messages in our Spanish infographic and YouTube video series. In this interactive webpage, you will find easy tips to support healthy puberty alongside videos, quizzes and links to more resources. 

  • Introducing zbclink.org

    zbclink for web

    You might have noticed that our web address, zerobreastcancer.org, is a bit long. When we add on the exact location of our materials, it's much longer! Some of our materials aren't even housed on our website but exist on YouTube and other platforms. In order to make our materials more easily accessible, we have begun using a branded shortlink: zbclink.org. If you go directly to that address, it will state that it is a "Branded Short Domain" without mentioning it belongs to Zero Breast Cancer. However, if you go to a link we have created with it, you will be brought directly to our materials. Here are a few links we have created so far:

  • Presentando La guía de las niñas y la nueva pubertad

    ZBC New Puberty Spanish Promo Graphic for web

    ¡Zero Breast Cancer acaba de terminar de producir La guía de las niñas y la nueva pubertad, una traducción en español de nuestra versión en inglés de Girls’ New Puberty Eguide! Esta guía expande los mensajes en nuestra infografía y en la serie de videos de YouTube. En la página web interactiva, encontrará consejos fáciles para apoyar una pubertad saludable junto con videos, pruebas y enlaces a recursos adicionales. 

  • Spotlight on 2018 Girls' New Puberty Campaign Volunteers

    Maritza and Ian recording for web
    Sound specialist Ian Walker of Hurricane Images
    and volunteer Maritza Cárdenas 
    record the narration for our
    Girls' New Puberty tips videos in Spanish.

    Zero Breast Cancer succeeds in very large part due to a dedicated cadre of volunteers, some of whom offer specialized and/or skilled pro-bono services. This month we thank and recognize 6 people who supported ZBC work in 2018 by translating, narrating, and/or reviewing new elements of our Girls’ New Puberty campaign: Chely Córdova, Frances Chiu, Hannah Barlow, Larry Chu, Maritza Cárdenas, and Perry Borders. 

  • Website Recommendation: BCERP.org

    BCERP Image composite correct size

    The Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) website aims to make the latest scientific findings on the relationship between environmental exposures and breast cancer both accessible and actionable. Consisting of a transdisciplinary consortium of scientists, the BCERP is funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIEHS) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). With community partners, the BCERP researchers look at how environmental exposures during key life stages may increase risk of breast cancer. (Full disclosure: ZBC was a community partner in the past.)

  • What is puberty?

    Puberty is the process of growing from a child into an adult. For girls, this happens when the brain tells the ovaries to start making chemicals called "hormones" that help you grow. There are many things that can shape when you start puberty and what it’s like. In this video, "Girls Talk: What is Puberty?," teens share what puberty was like for them so younger girls can learn from their experience. For more videos in this series, click here.

  • Why We Focus on Girls’ Health Before and During Puberty

    ZBC New Puberty Campaign Graphic for web

    The number of girls starting puberty before age 8 is more than double what it was just a generation ago! And this is a problem: scientific research has shown that earlier development can lead to health issues, both in the short and long term, including increasing lifetime breast cancer risk. 

    Puberty is controlled by sex hormones, which are influenced by behaviors and some chemicals in our environment. Girls today have different lifestyles than previous generations. For example, they have fewer opportunities to be active and new distractions that can make it harder to get enough sleep. Kids are also exposed to more and different chemicals that affect hormones. Scientists think that these changes have led to puberty starting earlier than ever before. 

  • ZBC Featured on 360BayArea Podcast - Beyond the Pink

    catherine 360bayarea

    Zero Breast Cancer is excited to share that our Program Director, Catherine Thomsen, is a featured guest on the November 360BayArea podcast. Titled Beyond the Pink, the episode explores the breast cancer topic from unique angles that go beyond the pink ribbon in order to understand genuine and diverse personal experiences of women who are diagnosed or had loved ones who have had breast cancer.

  • Zero Breast Cancer Print Materials

    materials 4

    Zero Breast Cancer (ZBC) offers health and wellness materials for many different audiences to reduce breast cancer risk and the risk of recurrence. With each description, we have noted what is currently in stock and available for free. If you want materials not in stock or a large amount, we can let you know the cost for ordering or provide you with print-quality files you can order yourself. Fill out the Printed Materials Request Form online to let us know how much you would like, or email us for more information at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..