With some friends I attended a conference last night about breast cancer prevention. The two women speaking were doctors and researchers from our area, and they head an organization that looks at environmental factors in developing breast cancer. They were articulate, passionate and determined to reach as many women as possible, to warn them of dangers that might be avoided, if we knew about them. I was struck with how noble this kind of speaking out is. They are attempting to lessen the harming that chemicals and other controllable exposures can effect upon us.
The evidence suggests that we are most vulnerable in the womb and as small children to harm that decades later shows up as breast cancer. These women were speaking for the pre-verbal. They give voice to ourselves when we are at our most fragile.
I was amazed at how much we can do to protect ourselves. Right speech encourages more right speech, and I will be telling my friends, family and neighbors about websites to see what chemicals in shampoos, cleaners and other products are suspicious. There are sites to tell us about foods and work dangers and harmful foods in our diets. Avoiding alcohol and red meat are two of the simple substances to deselect. We can pick organic foods and not buy cans and plastics. Being sure radiation exposure is minimal is easy enough if we can speak up and ask our doctors about risks and harms.
So at the same time these doctors were speaking, they were empowering us to speak up for ourselves. After their presentation they took every single question in the room. What a compassionate and generous gift to us. And we now have tools to do our own research, and ingredients to look up and choices we can make. It makes us grownups, not helpless victims.
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