Statement of Karen Joy Miller
Founder & President
Huntington, NY, Breast Cancer Action Coalition
5 Broadview Drive, Huntington, NY 11743

Good Morning!

I am Karen Joy Miller from Huntington Long Island and I'd like to begin by thanking this esteemed panel for allowing me to testify today. Senator Reid, Senator Clinton, Congressman Ackerman, Congressman King, Congresswoman McCarthy, Congressman Grucci and Congressman Israel, you have all been very supportive of grassroots efforts to put an end to breast cancer and this hearing is evidence of your concern.

I have lived on Long Island for 33 happy years raising three children with my husband Michael. 1987 was the year when our peaceful existence was shattered by the news of my breast cancer diagnosis. Thanks to the wonderful support of my immediate family. I was eventually able to regain my breath. Once on my feet, I was fortunate enough to find three other women in my town who were willing to ask the vital question: WHY? Together we started the Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, whose first major project was to map the incidence of breast cancer within our township. I always knew that education equaled power ... the power to create change. With that in mind, I set out to arm myself with solid information. I read all I could, asked innumerable questions and along the way was lucky enough to meet the experts and learn from them

Breast cancer is a disease that has been puzzling us for centuries. We have come a long way in solving this puzzle but it is an undeniable fact that we have just begun the serious research into understanding the relationship between the toxicity of our environment and disease. Even though we are all hearing about the major breakthroughs in the fight against cancer, such as the completed Genome Project and the new wonder drug Gleevec, there is a long way to go before we can rest easy.

The efforts of our Coalition along with many grassroots groups nationwide, have laid the groundwork by increasing public's awareness of breast cancer. The growing number of women having regular mammograms is proof of that very effort. Yet, despite the heightened awareness and vigilance, breast cancer rates have jumped by 40% since 1973. THAT IS SERIOUS cause for alarm!..

Earlier I mentioned the mapping project initiated by our coalition Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition. Please take a moment to look at the dots. Each of these dots, no matter what the color, represents a woman who is ALSO asking the question why? She is willing to provide any answers the researchers want to know. She is willing to tell you confidential information about herself. She is one of the millions who want to know WHY?

Our high-tech world makes our lives more comfortable and convenient by the day, yet that same world bears responsibility for toxic pollution. Industrialization has been at the core of our success as a society, but the price has been much too high in terms of our health.

Breast cancer activists as well as informed people everywhere believe that toxins in the environment may be just as responsible for creating genetic abnormalities, as are inherited factors. Widespread and cumulative exposure to toxic agents in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the constant radiation our bodies absorb, may be causing dangerous alterations to the healthy cells in our bodies. Our immune system simply cannot fight them all off and ultimately cancer takes hold.

I am here to ask you, our valued representatives, to PLEASE take on some major new initiatives:

  • There must be incentives to encourage environmental research. Breast cancer activists all across this country have helped raise multiple millions of dollars for research. But environmental researchers have been getting seriously short-changed by funding agencies like NCI. Breast cancer research must be more interdisciplinary and more focused on environmental contaminants. And that research must be done with the active assistance of the breast cancer community.

  • Government must improve its databases so that scientists can do their work properly. Today's cancer registries are woefully inadequate. They do not collect many forms of information that are vital for researchers. Work with us to improve these cancer registries.

  • We all need better information so we can make healthier lifestyle choices. We need the federal government to provide that information in a format that is easy to use and understand.

  • We also ask that our government speak openly about the precautionary principle. It is no longer as simple as telling the public to "Get a Mammogram". While our environment is being tested, we need honesty on a federal level about the health risks we face.

  • In 1994 the FDA recommended that doctors record in patient's files information to calculate the absorbed dose of radiation to the patient. Right now most doctors have no idea how much radiation their patients are exposed to. The fact that many of us see different specialists, compounds the problem. Please address this vital public health issue and remember that radiation is a proven environmental cause of breast cancer.

  • To date, the effects of groundwater on breast cancer have not been adequately researched. Many on Long Island are concerned that our water distribution systems increase our cancer risks, and this needs greater attention.

  • The Senate must ratify the international POPS treaty dealing with the Persistent Organic Pollutants such as PCB's, chlordane and dioxins. The elimination of these contaminants must begin without delay.

    It is high time to reverse these trends, and with your help it can be done.

    In the spirit of cooperation and community, we sincerely hope that your persistence and assistance during these next four years will make a REAL difference in the fight against breast cancer.... When I learned that I had breast cancer in 1987, I was devastated. My family was devastated. Improved methods of detection and cure are essential, but they are not enough. We must get at the root causes of breast and other cancers. There is a growing body of evidence that supports our claims. Industrial toxins are killing us. Please help us to clarify our understanding of risks and work with us to reduce our exposure to these awful chemicals that have become so pervasive in our communities. In our hearts and minds, we know these are possible and we appeal to you to speed up that process. Thank you.

    Contributors:

    Scott Carlin,
    Assoc. Professor of Environmental Studies & Geography
    Southampton College, Long island University

    Colleen Keegan RN, Project Director
    Health Care Without Harm, New York City

    Barbara Balaban, Breast Cancer Activist

    Laura Weinberg, Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition