Direct Link Found Between Breast Cancer and This Chemical...

"Women whose mothers had higher levels of DDT in their blood while pregnant were nearly four times more likely to develop breast cancer as adults, a new study finds.

The report provides one of the strongest links yet between exposure to DDT - still widely used globally - and cancer. It's especially reliable because the researchers found 50-year-old blood samples to show how much DDT was in the pregnant women's systems, rather than rely on possibly faulty memories or other indirect measurements.

"Environmental chemicals have long been suspected causes of breast cancer, but until now, there have been few human studies to support this idea," said Barbara Cohn of the Public Health Institute in Berkeley, California, who worked on the study.

"This 54-year study is the first to provide direct evidence that chemical exposures for pregnant women may have lifelong consequences for their daughters' breast cancer risk."

Let me provide a little background on DDT:

This  chemical was developed in the 40's as a method to eradicate mosquitoes...a major source of malaria, a disease that was killing untold tens of thousands of people.  It was hailed as a "miracle pesticide" with no known significant consequences.  The inventor was even given the Nobel Peace Prize.  The US military used it to delouse servicemen in WW2.  Farmers used it on their fields.

It was not until Rachel Carson (a scientist) researched this chemical and wrote the book, "Silent Spring," in the early 60's, that the consequences of this pesticide began to become known...the complete eradication of all carnivorous birds.  Because of her diligence, we were able to come back from the brink of the extinction of robins, hawks and other meat-eating birds.  The DDT weakened the shells of the eggs, thus causing the death of the birds. This chemical found its way into our water supply and it was banned in the US under the Nixon Administration, but the problem existed of what to do with all that DDT.

The US sold the DDT to any country that wanted it.  And, now, look at the results...breast cancer in the children of women who were exposed over the years.

The "better living through chemistry" chemical industry loves to deny any connection between pesticides and herbicides and health risks.  Up until now, with few exceptions, they have been successful because it has been nearly impossible to "scientifically" prove the connection.  After all, you would have to expose a randomized population to potentially hazardous chemicals, purposefully.  Well, it appears as though we now have that irrefutable evidence.

The real problem, here, is that we are an interconnected world via the air and water.  What affects one or more countries will inevitably eventually affect all of us.  The question is: "What are we going to do about it?"

Dr. Esther
drkollars@gmail.com