Published more than three decades after Rachel Carson's Silent Spring warned of the impact of chemicals on the environment, this book offers a critique of current thinking on cancer and its causes. It argues that the evidence has been wilfully ignored, and that the environment is still being poisoned. Throughout her study, the author weaves two stories - of Rachel Carson and her battle to be heard and of her own cancer of the bladder, which she traces back to agricultural and industrial contamination.
The Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine wanted to address the link between environmental factors and the development of cancer in light of recent advances in genomics. They asked what research tools are needed, how new scientific information can be applied in a timely manner to reduce the burden of cancer, and how this can be flexible enough to treat the individual.
Though overall cancer incidence and mortality have continued to decline in recent years, cancer continues to devastate the lives of far too many Americans. In 2009 alone, 1.5 million American men, women, and children were diagnosed with cancer, and 562,000 died from the disease. There is a growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer. The Pres. Cancer Panel dedicated its 2008¿2009 activities to examining the impact of environmental factors on cancer risk. The Panel considered industrial, occupational, and agricultural exposures as well as exposures related to medical practice, military activities, modern lifestyles, and natural sources. This report presents the Panel¿s recommend. to mitigate or eliminate these barriers. Illus.
Ecology and Evolution of Cancer is a timely work outlining ideas that not only represent a substantial and original contribution to the fields of evolution, ecology, and cancer, but also goes beyond by connecting the interfaces of these disciplines. This work engages the expertise of a multidisciplinary research team to collate and review the latest knowledge and developments in this exciting research field. The evolutionary perspective of cancer has gained significant international recognition and interest, which is fully understandable given that somatic cellular selection and evolution are elegant explanations for carcinogenesis. Cancer is now generally accepted to be an evolutionary and ecological process with complex interactions between tumor cells and their environment sharing many similarities with organismal evolution. As a critical contribution to this field of research the book is important and relevant for the applications of evolutionary biology to understand the origin of cancers, to control neoplastic progression, and to prevent therapeutic failures. - Covers all aspects of the evolution of cancer, appealing to researchers seeking to understand its origins and effects of treatments on its progression, as well as to lecturers in evolutionary medicine - Functions as both an introduction to cancer and evolution and a review of the current research on this burgeoning, exciting field, presented by an international group of leading editors and contributors - Improves understanding of the origin and the evolution of cancer, aiding efforts to determine how this disease interferes with biotic interactions that govern ecosystems - Highlights research that intends to apply evolutionary principles to help predict emergence and metastatic progression with the aim of improving therapies
Explores the development of the ideas of evolutionary biology, particularly as affected by the increasing understanding of genetics and of the chemical basis of inheritance.
From the pollution-infested landscape of urban areas to the leached soil of decimated rain forests, the human race has exerted its will on the environment with reckless abandon. In effect, humankind has become a most dangerous type of Earth Cancer. Now this rampant form of cancer is threatening the very existence of life on this planet. Is it our divine right to control all species and habitats? Does our insatiable hunger for expansion and disregard for the environment represent a collective death-wish by our species? If so, how can we change our fate? This extraordinary book confronts these questions by studying the complex relationship between ethics, economics, and ecology. More than a chronicle of environmental devastation, Earth Cancer challenges human beings to examine and redefine their economic, social, and moral values in a way that respects the interdependence of the biosphere. Only when this level of self-understanding is reached can humans realize their full potential as intelligent species and preserve the earth's ecology for future generations. The facts are shocking. Every day on Earth, approximately 75 plant and animal species are driven into biological extinction. Forests are being destroyed and the wealth of our planet's resources are being depleted at an astounding rate. The planet as we know it is facing a barren future unless the human race can halt the spread of a cancer that holds Earth's fate in the balance. To fight back, we must come to terms with several harsh realities: 1. Human beings must realize that our destiny is inextricably linked to the preservation of other species and environmental resources. 2. We must adjust our perspective to view the human race as an equal, interdependent part of the biosphere, not as ruler over it. 3. We must temper our seemingly unquenchable thirst for progress with a more holistic vision for the long-term survival of our species. In short, we must confront the source of this deadly earth cancer—ourselves. Earth Cancer sounds a wake-up call for humanity. Weigel contends that humans have constructed a self-defeating Berlin Wall between themselves and other species. This wall is built from arrogance toward the environment as symbolized by the systematic destruction of habitats and the reckless generation of waste. As our blind pursuit of economic development and expansion continues to prevail over ecological concern, the wall grows larger and the devastation more prolific. Weigel explains that humans face a moral and ethical imperative to stem this tide before it is too late. Because the fate of so many species is dependent upon the decisions we make, the ideal of interdependence with all other members of the biosphere must be embraced. This important book provides new insight about our attitude toward the environment and suggests that a change in our priorities could mean a change in our destiny.
This contributed volume addresses the link between the social environment and cancer in Europe. The authors document the wide range and diverse trends in cancer incidence and patient survival in Europe, and they identify the main mechanisms and key influences that underlie these inequalities. They suggest a series of actions and programmes to tackle these inequalities in Europe, within the conceptual framework of intervention research. The influence of the social environment on the risk of suffering and dying from cancer is obviously a global phenomenon, as evidenced by a growing number of studies and books. In part, the underlying mechanisms are universal. Given the availability of a new standardised measure for social deprivation in Europe (the European Deprivation Index), the networking of population-based cancer registries across Europe as efficient surveillance tools, the increasing comparability of the organisation of care in European countries, and the recent launch of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, this extensive review of social inequalities in cancer on a European scale is both relevant and timely. The book consists of 21 chapters organised in four sections: Part I – General Considerations and Methodologic Aspects Part II – Social Disparities in Cancer Incidence and Survival – Reports Part III – Social Disparities in Cancer Incidence and Survival – Mechanisms Part IV – Towards an Evidence-Based Policy for Tackling Social Inequalities in Cancer Social Environment and Cancer in Europe: Towards an Evidence-Based Public Health Policy is a unique resource that presents up-to-date methods for analysing quantitative data. It focusses on inequalities in cancer incidence and survival within the wider framework of inequalities in health. This book will be an essential reference for policy-makers, researchers, public health professionals, social scientists and oncologists.
No Family History presents compelling evidence of environmental links to breast cancer, ranging from everyday cosmetics to industrial waste. Sabrina McCormick weaves the story of one survivor with no family history into a powerful exploration of the big business of breast cancer. As drugs, pink products, and corporate sponsorships generate enormous revenue to find a cure, a growing number of experts argue that we should instead increase focus on prevention—reducing environmental exposures that have contributed to the sharp increase of breast cancer rates. But the dollars continue to pour into the search for a cure, and the companies that profit, including some pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies, may in fact contribute to the environmental causes of breast cancer. No Family History shows how profits drive our public focus on the cure rather than prevention, and suggests new ways to reduce breast cancer rates in the future.
Sandra Steingraber, biologist, poet, and survivor of cancer in her twenties, brings all three perspectives to bear on the most important health and human rights issue of our time: the growing body of evidence linking cancer to environmental contaminations. Her scrupulously researched scientific analysis ranges from the alarming worldwide patterns of cancer incidence to the sabotage wrought by cancer-promoting substances on the intricate workings of human cells. In a gripping personal narrative, she travels from hospital waiting rooms to hazardous waste sites and from farmhouse kitchens to incinerator hearings, bringing to life stories of communities in her hometown and around the country as they confront decades of industrial and agricultural recklessness. Living Downstream is the first book to bring together toxics-release data -- now finally made available through under the right-to-know laws -- and newly released cancer registry data. Sandra Steingraber is also the first to trace with such compelling precision the entire web of connections between our bodies and the ecological world in which we eat, drink, breathe, and work. Her book strikes a hopeful note throughout, for, while we can do little to alter our genetic inheritance, we can do a great deal to eliminate the environmental contributions to cancer, and she shows us where to begin. Living Downstream is for all readers who care about the health of their families and future generations. Sandra Steingraber's brave, clear, and careful voice is certain to break the paralyzing silence on this subject that persists more than three decades after Rachel Carson's great early warning.
Some investigators have hypothesized that estrogens and other hormonally active agents found in the environment might be involved in breast cancer increases and sperm count declines in humans as well as deformities and reproductive problems seen in wildlife. This book looks in detail at the science behind the ominous prospect of "estrogen mimics" threatening health and well-being, from the level of ecosystems and populations to individual people and animals. The committee identifies research needs and offers specific recommendations to decision-makers. This authoritative volume: Critically evaluates the literature on hormonally active agents in the environment and identifies known and suspected toxicologic mechanisms and effects of fish, wildlife, and humans. Examines whether and how exposure to hormonally active agents occursâ€"in diet, in pharmaceuticals, from industrial releases into the environmentâ€"and why the debate centers on estrogens. Identifies significant uncertainties, limitations of knowledge, and weaknesses in the scientific literature. The book presents a wealth of information and investigates a wide range of examples across the spectrum of life that might be related to these agents.
