Can you trust your culture's leading authorities? Inflammatory Breast Cancer Rash Can you trust your culture's government? Can you trust your culture's private industry?"
We
asked those questions in 1995, at the end of our book, Dressed To Kill:
The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras. Before writing our book, we
sent details of our research to the National Cancer Institute, American
Cancer Society, President's Cancer Panel, American Women's Medical
Association, National Organization for Women, National Women's Health
Network, and National Women's Health Resource Center. There was no
response. Not one. Given the lack of interest, we decided to publish
our findings in a book, getting the information directly to the women
who needed to hear it.
But are women getting the message?
It
has been 12 years since our book was first published. Over that time,
more than 500,000 women in the US alone have died from breast cancer,
with another 2,000,000 having been diagnosed with this terrible disease
-- a disease that is in most cases preventable by simply loosening up
or eliminating the bra. And yet, this lifesaving information has been
actively suppressed and censored by the medical and lingerie industries.
Examples of Suppress and Censorship
A
large public relations firm in New York City was willing and eager to
help us release this information to the public. "My wife just had
breast cancer, and I'm sure you are right," the head of the firm
confessed. A big media announcement and celebration were planned. Days
later, however, the firm withdrew its offer to help, stating that one
of their clients, a large medical center, objected to their working
with us.
A Sydney, Australia public relations firm agreed to
help publicize our work when we were doing outreach efforts in their
country. But it, too, reversed itself. We had asked if they had any
conflicts of interest, such as lingerie industry clients. They said
they had none. But as it turned out, they did represent a
pharmaceutical company that makes a breast cancer treatment drug, and
the prevention of breast cancer and its treatment are in conflict, they
explained.
The Intimate Apparel Council (which is the US trade
association for the multi-billion dollar bra industry) threatened our
publisher, Avery Publishing Group, with a lawsuit if Dressed To Kill
was released. The publisher said the publicity would help spread the
word. The lawsuit never materialized.
After the book was
released, the NBC television news show, Dateline, was interested in
doing a story on our work. We were extensively interviewed by a
skeptical reporter who became a supporter. The story was then abruptly
terminated. The producer confidentially explained that the policy of
General Electric, which owns NBC, is to avoid airing news stories that
can adversely impact on other GE interests. As it happens, GE is a
manufacturer of mammography machines.
Women's magazines, such as
Glamour, Self, and others, ran critical stories condemning our work,
and finding "experts" to encourage women to continue wearing bras. Elle
magazine planned a positive story about the bra/cancer link, but was
coerced into pulling the story by bra advertisers. In various
newspapers around the world, such as the Guardian in the UK, stories
were pulled prior to publication because of fear that they may "panic
the public", including their lingerie advertisers.
The British
Fashion Council (which is the UK's equivalent of the Intimate Apparel
Council) published the Breast Health Handbook in 1996 to oppose our
efforts. They announced the formation of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Foundation, which was to receive donations from bra sales to fund
genetic research into breast cancer. The book criticized our work,
claiming, "The idea that wearing a bra encourages cancer by trapping
toxins was recently put forward by researchers at the Institute for
Culturogenic Studies (sic) in Hawaii. Researchers from more august
establishments promptly dismissed it as claptrap." Without any medical
evidence or research, the book informs women that wearing bras is a
health necessity, and should be worn as early in life as possible to
prevent breast damage.
Our original publisher, Avery, was
purchased by giant Penguin Putnam in 1998. The new publisher did not
list the book for three years and refused to revert publication rights
to the copywrite holders, Singer and Grismaijer. The book was virtually
unavailable, and it was thought to have gone out of print. Finally,
after repeated requests, the publishing rights were released to us in
October, 2001. (ISCD Press has been keeping it in print since then.)
A
television documentary was produced in the year 2000 by Channel 4 in
the UK, called, Bras- The Bare Facts. In the documentary, 100 women
with fibrocystic breast disease went bra-free for 3 months to document
the effect on breast cysts and pain. Two prominent British breast
surgeons conducted the study. The results were astounding, and clearly
demonstrated that the bra is a serious health hazard. We were
interviewed for the program to discuss the bra/cancer connection, which
was considered highly plausible and important by the doctors
interviewed. Some theorized that, in addition to lymphatic impairment,
the bra could also cause cancer by overheating the breasts. The
documentary made newspaper headlines in British Commonwealth countries
throughout the world, but no mention of it was made at all in the US.
The following day, headlines in the U.K. tried to suppress fears of the
bra/cancer link, and the doctors in the study quickly distanced
themselves from the cancer issue, telling women to continue wearing
bras. Their research for the documentary was supposed to be published
in a medical journal, but never was. And no further research ever
materialized to follow-up on their work, which they said they would do.
Extensive news coverage of the program was available on the Internet
soon after it aired, but most articles were removed shortly thereafter.
No
follow-up studies have been done to refute or confirm our research.
None. While a Harvard study, published in the European Journal of
Cancer in 1991, discovered that bra-free women have a lower rate of
breast cancer, the results were not central to the research they were
conducting and were considered unimportant and not followed-up. In
fact, apart from our initial 1991-93 Bra and Breast Cancer Study,
discussed in detail in Dressed To Kill, and our follow-up research in
Fiji, discussed in our book, Get It Off!, there are still no other
studies on the bra/cancer link. Not even a letter or discussion of the
issue can be found in any medical journal. After decades of breast
cancer research, the bra is still completely ignored as even being a
potential factor for consideration. It's like studying foot disease and
ignoring shoes.
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This
lack of research, and the consequent ignorance, are then used by cancer
organizations to justify further suppression of the issue. As the
American Cancer Society states on its website, (ignoring the Harvard
study), "There are no scientifically valid studies that show a
correlation between wearing bras of any type and the occurrence of
breast cancer. Two anthropologists made this association in a book
called Dressed To Kill. Their study was not conducted according to
standard principles of epidemiological research and did not take into
consideration other variables, including known risk factors for breast
cancer. There is no other, credible research to validate this claim in
any way." And they don't seem interested in funding any such studies in
the near future, either. There are other organizations that are
similarly critical of the bra/cancer link for lack of research
evidence, while at the same time discouraging any research on the
subject.
Of particular interest is when breast cancer
organizations antagonistic to the issue declare the bra/cancer link to
be "misinformation" or a "myth", without any scientific study
supporting their claims. They say bras are important for women to wear
for support, without any evidence showing bras are safe or necessary.
They then encourage regular mammograms, cancer prevention drug therapy
(not realizing that "prevention therapy" is an oxymoron), and even
preventative mastectomies (which means that those who are high risk for
breast cancer but who don't want to get it can have their breast
removed as a prevention strategy). Of course, it is better to remove
the bra instead of the breasts, but bra removal is not a billable
procedure.
Keep in mind that bras have been associated with
other health problems, such as headaches, numbness in the hands,
backache and other postural problems, cysts, pain, skin depigmentation,
and more. And lymphatic blockage, which is the result of bra
constriction, has already been associated with various cancers.
Clearly, the bra/cancer link needs further research, while women take
the precaution of loosening up.
Why the resistance?
What harm could there be in following our simple advice, or in even researching this issue? Why the defensive reaction?
There are three reasons:
1.
The bra industry fears class action lawsuits. Many insiders have
admitted to us that for years the industry suspected underwires were
causing cancer. They know that tight bras cause cysts and pain. It is
only a matter of time until a lawsuit is made against a bra
manufacturer. As a defense, the industry is shifting the blame to the
customer, claiming that most women are wearing their bras too tightly,
and should get professional fittings. (How do you get a properly fitted
push-up bra?) Breaking ranks with their industry peers, and trying to
capitalize on the bad news, are several bra manufacturers that now
offer newly patented bras claiming to mitigate the damage, including
cancer, caused by conventional bras.
2. The medical industry is
making billions each year on the detection and treatment of breast
cancer. As mentioned above, there is a conflict between the prevention
and the treatment of disease, especially if the prevention does not
include drugs or surgery. The fact is that our treatment-focused,
profit-oriented medical system is making a killing treating this
disease, and has billions to lose if breast cancer goes out of fashion
along with bras.
In addition, the bra issue will revolutionize
the breast cancer field, embarrassing many researchers. Breast cancer
research to date that has ignored the bra issue is seriously flawed as
a result, which is why the "experts" are still unable to explain the
cause of over 70% of all breast cancer cases. Career cancer researchers
who have ignored the bra issue will have to admit this fatal flaw in
their work, which they are not inclined to admit in their lifetimes.
3.
Finally, there is the dogmatic, fearful resistance from some women who
find their personal identity so connected to their bras that they would
rather risk cancer than be bra-free (which some women have actually
told us.) Women are cultural entities, and so long as our culture
scorns a natural bustline, many women will submit to the pain, red
marks and indentations, cysts, and even the threat of cancer rather
than face potential public ridicule (which never really happens.)
There
are also women who believe the myth that bras will prevent droopy
breasts. The bra industry admits this is a myth, while it still
promotes it to improve sales. In fact, bras cause breasts to droop, as
the breasts become dependent on the bra for support and the natural
supportive mechanisms atrophy from non use.
Despite the
resistance, however, some women have gotten the message. And many
health care professionals, who have also suspected bras for years, are
now spreading that message. As women hear the news and discover that
eliminating the bra also eliminates cysts and pain, the news further
spreads by word of mouth.
There are now thousands of websites on
this subject, many from health care professionals including medical
doctors, naturopathic doctors, osteopathic doctors, chiropractors,
massage therapists, lymphatic specialists, nutritionists, and others
who care about women and helping end this epidemic. Grassroots efforts
to keep this information alive and spreading have supplanted the
traditional medical research approach, which has disqualified itself
for lack of interest and conflict of interest.
When a disease is
caused by the culture and its habits, attitudes, fashions and
industries, there is bound to be resistance to change. Industries that
contribute to disease will be defensive, and industries that profit
from disease will be conflicted. However, the truth has a way of
getting out, despite the resistance and suppression. Thank Goodness the
truth does have a way of getting out.
Sydney Ross Singer is a
medical anthropologist and director of the Institute for the Study of
Culturogenic Disease, located in Hawaii. His unique form of applied
medical anthropology searches for the cultural/lifestyle causes of
disease. His working assumption is that our bodies were made to be
healthy, but our culture and the attitudes and behaviors it instills in
us can get in the way of health. By eliminating these causes, the body
is allowed to heal. Since most diseases of our time are caused by our
culture/lifestyle, this approach has resulted in many original
discoveries into the cause, and cure, of many common diseases. It also
makes prevention possible by eliminating adverse lifestyle practices.
Sydney works with his co-researcher and wife, Soma Grismaijer, and is
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