October 2017 Newsletter

Dear Reader,

Fires.  Firefighters.  This is not how I expected to start this October newsletter. But it is how I must begin.

If you were directly or indirectly impacted by the fires in Sonoma and Napa our thoughts are very much with you at this difficult time.  Thousands of adults and kids in the community grew up attending a summer camp near Santa Rosa that was completely destroyed. I personally know two families that lost their homes. Loosing buildings and structures is a big set back. The loss of life is tragic. Loosing a lifetime of photos, family heirlooms, memorabilia and memories will deeply affect all the survivors for years to come.

Kind of strange to think that on October 8th our friends from Marin Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 1775 were stationed outside Lappert's Ice Cream in Sausalito for their 4th Annual Fire and Ice Cream scoop day to benefit Zero Breast Cancer and mere hours later were in full scale action mode up in Santa Rosa.

Our deep gratitude goes to the brave and caring men and women who fought the fires, helped the victims and are still cleaning up the toxic mess. 

The toxic mess. Please be careful out there folks - the health risks are both short term and long term.

Now to return to the opening I originally intended for you.....

To Pink or Not to Pink? That is the question.   

According to Wikipedia National Beast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) was founded in 1985 in October as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries (now part of AstraZeneca, producer of several anti-breast cancer drugs). The aim of the NBCAM from the start has been to promote mammography as the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer.

It seems as if that focus has not shifted much in 25 years despite concerted efforts by many advocates. On the contrary the pink ribbon bonanza during October continues unabated with the most common message being shop and support  breast cancer screening efforts. Key concerns are that research (especially into deadly metastatic breast cancer), prevention strategies, less harsh treatment options and survivor support services do not get the same attention, nor the same financial support as breast cancer screening does..

In a nutshell what do we know about mammograms?

• Mammograms do not prevent breast cancer. This misconception abounds. Mammograms can only ever reveal disease that already exists.  An ‘all clear’ mammogram doesn’t prevent disease.  It is important to be clear and precise about this.
• Breast cancer deaths are not prevented by mammograms. Early detection of breast cancer resulting from mammography and other screening protocols has meant that many women can be safely offered less toxic or aggressive treatment options and that is a good thing. Early detection has also been blamed for over-treatment of breast cancers that were never going to be life-threatening. Breast cancer screening does not determine whether the cancer will spread (metastasize). It is metastatic breast cancer that kills and death rates for people with metastatic disease have not budged much despite decades of intense screening. Understanding how to prevent cancer recurring or spreading to other parts of the body, as well as developing more and better treatment options will truly help to save more lives.

Some breast cancer survivors have started speaking out because they consider the 'pinking' of breast cancer to be demeaning or too superficial for such a serious topic. An opinion piece in the New York Times Sunday Review last weekend lead with the heading Breast Cancer is Serious. Pink is not.

Zero Breast Cancer partners who participate in NBCAM help to make a difference by sharing a different kind of information and raising a different kind of awareness with the public. Awareness about evidence based information on ways to reduce breast cancer incidence in the first place.

So you may well ask “What about prevention?” There are no absolute guarantees - we wish there were. Lets try another question. “What about risk reduction?” There are definitely things that individuals and communities can do. The evidence grows stronger every day.  Here are 13 Ways To Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer you can share with your loved ones (available in Spanish too). You too can help to change the conversation!

Please allow me to conclude with two very important acknowledgments.

Thank you to the The Mercantile at Cavallo Point,The Lodge at Golden Gate. Leigh Vogen and team planned and hosted the second annual BFF event on October 12th. This lovely setting provides a great opportunity to share breast cancer risk reduction information.

Attendees are treated to refreshments, mini-facials and massages and a percentage of their ticket price and purchases will be donated to Zero Breast Cancer.

Catherine Thomsen, ZBC Program Director (behind the camera), Judy Wetterer, ZBC Board Secretary (left) and Anne Stolp, ZBC contract bookkeeper and Dipsea Hike coordinator (right) where on hand to mingle and answer questions. 

Last and by no means least our appreciation to Sgt. Carl Huber and the the Marin County Sheriff's Office who support Zero Breast Cancer through their Pink Patch Project. Proceeds of the sale of the highly collectible patches are intended to support research, education and outreach

Thank you for joining us in pinking thoughtfully!

Wishing you good health,

Rose Barlow 

Executive Director

Teens take the topic of breast cancer seriously!

In September high school senior Sydney Hillbush published an article in the Redwood Bark (the online news paper of Redwood High School) about trends in breast cancer rates in Marin County.  Zero Breast Cancer (ZBC) was honored to be able to provide key information and host Sydney at our office for a few hours as she interviewed members of our team and took photos.

For the past 5 weeks Greta Stout, a senior at Drake High in San Anselmo,  has been interning at Zero Breast Cancer one afternoon a week. On Wednesday October 25th Greta helped engage her fellow students at her high school with fun and games as well as learning about lifelong health and wellness strategies for breast cancer risk reduction. 

Members of the Zero Breast Cancer team were also invited by the Wellness Centers of the Tampalpais Union High School District to mount similar lunch time events at Tam High in Mill Valley and Redwood High in Larkspur.

The spinning wheel and questions challenge definitely engaged the students and an array of fun prizes encouraged participation.  We were impressed by the numbers of male and female participants and the maturity with which they discussed the topics with the ZBC representatives. Several hundred students participated in these lunch time events across all three campuses.  

ZBC continues to receive invitations to engage with students and we have several site visits scheduled for November as well.

View of the Zero Breast Cancer website landing (home) page above

Zero Breast Cancer established a Blog at the start of 2016. Content from the previous Zero Breast Cancer website going back as early as 2012 was incorporated to preserve timeless items that inform and educate - personal stories, research, accounts and memories of Zero Breast Cancer events and activities.

You can access all the articles in the Blog from the home page of the ZBC website;

• You can launch from the Blog link in the green navigation bar (at the top of every page) which will take you to the most recent collection of articles and give you access to all the previously published blogs - 8 pages worth.  Navigating around these pages is very easy.
• Or you can check out the the Just Out sections below the banner - these links will take you directly to the most recent individual blogs you might be interested in.

In September 2016 the book and web-site review Blogs were added to help you evaluate reading materials and resources that might be helpful to you. Please email us with recommendations of books or resources you would like reviewed.  Or better still you can volunteer to write a review of a resource that has been particularly useful to you (when you complete our online volunteer form let us know that blogging is the talent you have that you wish to share.)

In our experience the most moving and impactful blogs are often ones written about, and from, personal experiences.  We urge you to read a young breast cancer survivor's account of sexism and a pancreatic cancer survivor's experience of mammogram anxiety.

If you haven't already done so please also read blog confirming the remarkable findings from the Marin Women's Study; that some women who experience preeclampsia (dangerously high blood pressure) during pregnancy may also have very low breast cancer risk. Unlocking the mechanism that protects some women from breast cancer could help all women.

NOTE:  An article about this research was published in the Marin Independent Journal in September and shared in our September monthly email.  Zero Breast Cancer Scientific Advisory Group member, retired physician and member of the Marin Women's Study, Dr. Mary Mockus, took issue with some of the contents of that article.  You can read her letter to the editor here!

Every year for the last 28 years Congregation Rodef Sholom, Marin County, has held a Mitzvah (good deeds) Day to support local non-profits.  Zero Breast Cancer was honored to be invited to be a beneficiary of this valuable volunteer help.

Thanks to Joanne Schwarz, team leader,  and long time ZBC volunteers Deborah Barenboim and Debi Geller along with another 8 new friends for making short work of stuffing almost 1000 year end mailings.  Each completed envelope includes a letter, a remittance envelope, a donor gift and a stamp so that means almost 5000 discrete actions by the team in 3 hours!  There was lots of chatting and information sharing but no slacking! The youngest member of the team was a high school sophomore and the oldest a resident of Parnow Friendship House for Seniors (lets just tactfully say she has reached a venerable age!)

Rodef Sholom volunteers you rock!  

CORRECTION.  In last month's Volunteer Spotlight Rebecca Yeh was noted as graduating from college in Knashville. We apologize for the spelling error!  It should have read Nashville.