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. 

While truly every day is a good day to say “I love you” to the special people in your life, Valentine’s Day is a beautiful moment where we may go the extra mile with a special gesture. With over an estimated $18 billion spent annually for the holiday nationwide, it is a wonderful opportunity to vote with your dollars and support healthier options for farmers, workers, and our loved ones who are all a part of this global love story. 

We are excited to share our suggestions for a healthy, safe, and sweet holiday!

Welcome to 2018!

Entering the new year is often a time for self reflection and new commitments to changing something about your life in order to be healthier, happier, and more at peace. For many women, a better relationship with food is something that they strive for anew on an annual basis and is challenging to resolve. 

With an eye towards integrating rather than avoiding, we want to share some easy to use techniques to tackle hunger cravings that can help make this new year one where healthy new habits are formed. 

My favorite way to mix work and pleasure (or work and health if you prefer) is to walk and talk. I can't exactly do that in a digital medium so I am inviting you to sign up for the Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast Cancer and to read more about putting breast cancer risk information into context so that we can talk about it in a realistic way.

The Zero Breast Cancer Team, and Board of Directors would like to thank all of you who generously gave of your time, resources and energy to make our Dipsea Hike a tremendous success!

Well over 200 participants showed up on that bright, chilly Saturday morning. Our hikers were greeted with bagels, yogurt, fruit and local Equator Coffee. Once nourished, they had the energy necessary to complete the both beautiful and challenging hike up the steps and over the hill, before returning to have lunch with us back in Old Mill Park where everything started.

Thank you to Dave Albee for giving us permission to repost this blog. 

The finish line of the 1919 Women's Dipsea Hike in Willow Camp (now Stinson Beach)

The brainchild of the Women’s Dipsea Hike in 1918 was a man dubbed “The Sultan of the Dipsea.”

George James was an Olympic Club member in San Francisco and an advocate for women’s sports. He organized the Golden Gate Swim for women and then decided to create a cross country race for women over the Dipsea trail covering seven miles from the railroad station in Mill Valley to Willow Camp at Stinson Beach. Edith Hickman, the winner of the inaugural Women’s Dipsea Hike at age 19, was a star in both events.

You are not alone if the social distancing requirements and complying with the need of living in a social bubble has left you feeling anxious, socially isolated and feeling depressed. You are among millions of people who are bearing the brunt of Covid-19’s psychological effects. Our exposure to the continuous feed of stimulating news and notifications over wifi devices, television and social media has made many of us, myself included, worry about the future. As a result, it has made us vulnerable emotionally and mentally. Adjusting to the new normal of being isolated was not easy. I found the thought of following the mundane routine daily with little or no avenues of recreation or in-person interaction made me anxious.

When dealing with breast cancer, and looking to prevent breast cancer, the vast amount of information and the decisions that need to be made can be overwhelming. In 1999, Dr. Marisa Weiss, a renowned breast oncologist, founded breastcancer.org to address these needs. As a non-profit organization, breastcancer.org is dedicated to providing the most reliable, complete, and up-to-date information about breast cancer. It is an excellent resource.  Their mission is to help women and their loved ones make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast health and breast cancer so that they can make the best decisions for their lives. The people behind breastcancer.org bring with them a diverse set of skills and experience, from medical experts, writers, editors, and business development experts, to designers and web producers. A Professional Advisory Board (PAB) reviews all the medical information on the website. The PAB includes over 70 practicing medical professionals from around the world who are leaders in their fields. Breastcancer.org also provides a Spanish translation of its pages on the website.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. With breakthrough research and education, we drive consumer choice and civic action.” By providing integrated and detailed information on toxins in a variety of products, EWG encourages readers to advocate for themselves and their health by making educated purchasing decisions. Their staff covers a wide variety of disciplines, including a team of scientists, policy experts, lawyers, communication experts and programmers all focused on reducing our environmental exposures. In the past, they have found that their education efforts have enabled the public to put pressure on companies to remove potentially hazardous chemical ingredients as well as improving their overall practices. Overall, they diligently work to inform the public, provide specific tips to reduce exposure, and influence policy to create a healthier world for us all.

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.

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.

As a Dominican University student pursuing a degree in Global Public Health (GPH), I wanted to engage in work outside my school environment. I am not from Marin County. I was born and raised in the San Mateo County, specifically in Redwood City. In my second year as an undergraduate, I was presented the opportunity to intern with Zero Breast Cancer. They were seeking a bilingual intern, and with only one day to spare I decided to apply and hoped for the best.

Reducing stress is a key component in helping manage daily tasks. It doesn’t matter if you are in high school, college, or an adult, it can always be a battle to deal with stress. Specifically, the stress that comes with a breast cancer diagnosis can be the biggest battle of them all.

One of the best things to do is to take your mind off of whatever is bothering you. For example, when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago, she would attend weekly yoga classes and would go to any seminars offered at the hospital in order to gather information and meet others going through the same battle as her. She felt that attending weekly events really helped her through her treatment and post-treatment stages.

There are many different ways to reduce the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer, one of which is living a healthy lifestyle. One factor of a healthy lifestyle includes having daily exercise. Anyone can reduce their risk at any age, but it is especially encouraged to have an early start to prevent breast cancer.

Did you know that teens’ actions impact lifelong health and wellness? Puberty is a particularly important time for either increasing or decreasing lifetime breast cancer risk. Breast development can continue into the early 20s, making high school students’ actions particularly significant.

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..