Sign On to our Breast Cancer Prevention Platform

At a time when virtually every American has been touched by breast cancer, we are long past the need for awareness. This October, support the public policies that can help prevent breast cancer in the future by identifying and eliminating the environmental causes of the disease:

• A federal ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage containers
• Expanded FDA authority to make sure cosmetics are safe – not toxic
• A national health-tracking system to connect disease rates and pollution
• Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act

What You Can Do
Ask your elected officials in Washington to make breast cancer prevention a top policy priority. We’ve outlined our Prevention Platform in the letter below; all you need to do is fill in your name and address, and personalize the letter if you wish.

After you’ve sent your letter, share the Prevention Platform with friends and family. You can also tell them about our Prevention Matters campaign, including practical tips for reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals linked to breast cancer.

Take Action

Message Recipients

Your Federal Senator(s)

Your Federal Representative(s)

Review the Message

Subject:*

Dear (recipient name),

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I urge you to support efforts to stop breast cancer before it starts. As someone who has been touched by breast cancer, I am concerned about chemicals in consumer products that may be contributing to increasing rates of this devastating disease.

No more than 1 in 10 women with breast cancer has a genetic history of the disease, and scientific evidence links toxic chemicals and radiation in our everyday environment to the high rates of the disease.

Americans are exposed daily to thousands of chemicals through the products we buy, the food we eat and the air we breathe. Over the last 40 years, 80,000 chemicals have been registered for use in the United States, but fewer than 10 percent of them have been tested for their effects on human health. Between 1973 and 1998, U.S. breast cancer rates also increased by more than 40 percent. In 2008, an estimated 250,000 U.S. women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,500 died of the disease.

At a time when virtually every American has been touched by breast cancer, we are long past the need for awareness and must turn our attention toward prevention. Only through a commitment to strong public policy, corporate accountability and individual action dedicated to eliminating the environmental causes of breast cancer will we reach a time when fewer people are being diagnosed.

I am writing to ask you to make breast cancer prevention a top policy priority by supporting four key environmental health legislative initiatives:

• H.R. 1523 // S.593, the Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2009, which would ban bisphenol A (BPA) from food and beverage containers. BPA is a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to breast cancer and other serious health problems. It is used in plastic baby bottles and water bottles and as an epoxy resin in the lining of all metal cans and infant formula. BPA leaches out of these containers into food – and then into people.

• Expanded FDA authority over cosmetics. We need federal legislation to address the safety of personal care products, which are currently unregulated and often contain chemicals linked to cancer and other health concerns.

• H.R. 3426, the Coordinated Environmental Public Health Network Act of 2009, which would develop a national health-tracking system. This legislation would create a program that combines data from disease registries, environmental pollution reporting and biomonitoring programs to help us understand the links between diseases like breast cancer and pollution in our environment. It would provide potentially life-saving information to health officials and communities across the country.

• Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform. Studies by the National Academy of Sciences, U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others, have concluded that TSCA does not adequately help the public, industry or government assess the hazards of chemicals in commerce or control those of greatest concern.

You will receive an email confirming that your message was sent. Check the box if you would also like to receive a copy of this letter.

Your Information

*Required Fields

Title
First Name*
Last Name*
Email*
Would you like to join our e-mail list?
Address Line 1*
Address Line 2
City*
State*
ZIP/Postal Code*
Country*

Click Submit Button: