“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stand in its path.”
— Agatha Christie
There are a lot of non-profit organizations that focus on breast cancer. Most organizations promote early detection and awareness, or new and more effective treatment options. The organization that I’ve found to be the most focused on prevention and a cure, vs. treatment is The National Breast Cancer Coalition.
The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) was started in 1991 and is a non profit dedicated to something very different from many of the other breast cancer non-profits out there – their primary goal is to end breast cancer. NBCC is very adamant about the fact that we need to find a cure; not simply more ways to treat BC, or find it, but to END IT. NBCC recently published a study called: Ending Breast Cancer: A Baseline Status Report: Breast Cancer Deadline 2020. The entire study can be read by clicking here. I know it’s long, but this is a must read for anyone who has a strong interest in breast cancer. I strongly recommend reading it. The information they’ve collected is fascinating and worth taking the time to read.
If you can’t find the time to read the entire study, please take a moment to read the Executive Summary of the study by clicking here. In it you’ll see that they’ve developed a comprehensive plan to end breast cancer by January 1st, 2020. In less than five years. Now that’s what I’m talking about.
Whenever I speak with anyone who works in the health care industry in cancer research, I always ask them why no one has been able to find a cure for cancer, and they all just look at me as if I’m out of my mind, and incredibly naive. OK, so I’m not a scientist or a doctor, but why isn’t the healthcare industry spending more time and money on trying to find a cure for cancer than all the money that’s put into finding new drugs to treat it?
Here is a direct quote from the NBCC Study Executive summary:
“What does the end of breast cancer mean? Knowing how to prevent it and knowing how to prevent people from dying of it. While the majority of breast cancer research is focused on finding the next treatment drug, we are focused on two issues:
1. The causes and prevention of breast cancer metastasis
2. How to prevent the disease from developing in the first instance.
We now have the tools, information, resources and wisdom to create a global strategy to end breast cancer, and setting a deadline is the essential first step. Our understanding of the biology, etiology and genetics of breast cancer has increased dramatically. New disciplines have shed light on the process of innovation and how organizational systems evolve. And of course our capacity to gather, synthesize and analyze information is beyond anything even conceivable 20 years ago.
By leveraging all available resources in a collaborative and rapid research process, it will be possible to catalyze the development of innovative ideas that will ultimately end breast cancer. The goal is not to create better tools to identify breast cancer, or better mechanisms for managing it. The goal is to take what is already known and build upon that knowledge for the sole purpose of ending the disease.”
I don’t know about you, but that’s a goal I’m willing to support. I have a 19 year old daughter. I really don’t want her (or any 19 year olds) to have to experience the type of year I had in 2010.
Ok, I’ll get off my soap-box now. But, please read it and if you can, make a donation to NBCC so that all of our daughters can live in a world without breast cancer.
I’m with you but I wish the FDA would start seriously considering all the BPA and other estrogen-like chemicals in our environment and out law them like Europe and Canada.
We are so behind on these very important issues.
xCarolg
Carol – I’m with you on that as well. It’s hard to know what is ok to eat anymore, and don’t get me started on microwaves and food stored in plastic containers….. XO
I do tend to think you have some environmental connection, Claudia, (which, of course, scares the bejesus out of me since if that’s true, you’re perhaps still impacted by whatever it might be.)
I’ll have to read this–thanks for the link. I also get frustrated thinking about the fact that so many careers revolve around treating cancers, not curing them…but I’m sure their skills would be relevant to treating many other diseases, as well, if we were to really find a cure.