Environmentally Caused Cancers

Reading this article prompted me to re-publish a post I wrote from 2008. It illustrates how little positive progress has been made in our society to alleviate the chemical burden placed on our environment and ourselves.

From Change.org:

Environmentally Caused Cancers 'Grossly Underestimated'

by Tara Lohan May 07, 2010 04:53 PM (PT)
Topics: Environmental Health

In the fight against cancer we may not be paying enough attention to what's right before our eyes. A new report from the President's Cancer Panel reveals that cancer stemming from environmental factors have be "grossly underestimated," Marla Cone reports for Environmental Health News. "The panel advised President Obama 'to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's productivity, and devastate American lives,'" Cone wrote.

The President's Cancer Panel was initiated in 1971 and oversees the National Cancer Program. This year, in recommending that Obama take more action to address environmental factors that could lead to cancer, the panel pointed its fingers at a few culprits in particular: bisphenol A, radon, formaldehyde and benzene.