August 12th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
'Puberty' by Edvard Munch. Photo courtesy of Flickr user independentman // CC 2.0
When the story that girls are reaching puberty earlier than ever began popping up everywhere this week, I did not doubt its veracity. It was no coincidence that I received an email from a friend yesterday, observing with mixed feelings that she had just purchased a first bra for her oldest daughter. Her daughter is 9.
News about girls reaching puberty earlier and earlier isn’t exactly new. We saw a flurry of stories in late 2009, when studies found an association between early menarche, late menopause and breast cancer. Additionally, the finding that African American girls often show signs of pubertal development earlier than other girls is well-established.
The study that triggered this new explosion of publicity, published this week in Pediatrics, assessed girls’ development by evaluating the size of breast buds (as breasts are called in early stages of development). The researchers evaluated an ethnically diverse population of 1,239 girls ages 6 to 8 across three research sites. They found that 10.4 percent of white, 23.4 percent of black and 14.9 percent of Hispanic 7-year-olds had reached “Sexual Maturation Stage 2.” Stage 2 is more typically reached at age 10, but may occur any time from age 8 to age 13. Menarche, the first menstrual period, occurs on average at age 12, in Stage 4, but it, too, varies, occurring as early as age 9 and as late as age 17. Continue reading...
Tags: breast cancer, breasts, Girls, Menarche, puberty
Posted in Girls, Internet, Media, New Research, Newspapers, anatomy | 2 Comments »
April 6th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
Guest Post by Barbara A. Brenner Executive Director, Breast Cancer Action
One of the saddest aspects of capitalism is that companies think they can and should own anything they get their hands on. Some time ago, they started obtaining patents on human genes, including two genes implicated in breast cancer: BRCA1 and BRCA2.
The company that obtained the patents on these genes is called Myriad Genetics. With the patents, Myriad controls both the tests given to women to see if they carry mutations on these genes that may predisposed them to breast and ovarian cancer, as well as all the research related to the genes.
How can anyone own our genes? Up until now, no court has been asked that question. But last week, in a ground breaking decision, a federal judge in New York declared that Myriad’s patents on the breast cancer genes are invalid because they patent a part of nature.
That may seem like an obvious thing to most of us, but the research community is up in arms about how their inability to patent genes will inhibit their ability to innovate new treatments. Sounds plausible, but don’t be fooled. These patents are more about making money than they are about taking care of people who are sick. Continue reading...
Tags: breast cancer, genetic research, guest post, Health Care, lawsuit, patent
Posted in Law/Legal, Philosophy | 1 Comment »
April 5th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: advertising, breast cancer
Posted in Advertising | 2 Comments »
December 29th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
Three of my young nieces, Labor Day Weekend 2009.
Janice Horowitiz’ “Dueling Docs” feature at Huffington Post today is about the issue of girls reaching puberty at increasingly earlier ages than previous generations. Both Dr. Alisan Goldfarb and Dr. Stephen Safe talk about endocrine disruptors such as BPA (bisphenol-A, a carcinogenic component of some plastics found in some baby bottles and water containers) and pesticides. Certainly both types of chemicals are likely to be a factor in early menarche, but I find it surprising that those are the only factors mentioned. There’s no discussion of the roles of psychosocial stressors, low birth weight, or formula feeding. Neither physician gives serious consideration to the endocrine disruptors that are the hormones used in raising beef and dairy cattle as well as chicken in this country; Dr. Safe acknowledges that “[a]lmost all foods have endocrine disruptors”, but qualifies that statement with, “particularly fruits and vegetables.” (Do you suppose the beef and dairy lobby advertise at Huffington Post?)
For a more thorough, nuanced analysis of this issue, see Sandra Steingraber’s report, The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls: What We Know, What We Need to Know, published in 2007 by the Breast Cancer Fund. Among other findings, Steingraber reports that new research has revealed that the amount of natural hormones a child’s body produces on its own is much lower than previously estimated; this means “safe levels” of exposure to synthetic hormones and endocrine disruptors must be recalibrated, and policy modified accordingly.
Tags: breast cancer, environment, Girls, hormones, Menarche, puberty
Posted in Girls, Internet, Menarche, New Research | 3 Comments »
December 18th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
You may have heard the news that 23 hormone replacement therapy lawsuits filed by women diagnosed with breast cancer were dismissed by a New York judge this week. Judge Martin Shulman granted Pfizer’s motion to dismiss for two reasons: the plaintiff’s delayed filing exceeded the the three-year statute of limitations in New York, and that “the potential risk of contracting breast cancer from taking HRT medication was well known at all times out there in the stream of public information.” Oddly, Judge Shulman simultaneously asserted “that the debate over HRT health problems has not yet been settled.”
I can’t argue about exceeding the statute of limitations, but it’s difficult for a judge to assert that breast cancer risk of hormone therapy is well known public information. The Lancet reported today that up to half of US adults have trouble interpreting medical information, displaying low levels of health literacy. Health literacy, according to The Lancet, is the ability to comprehend and use medical information that can affect access to and use of the health-care system. Health literacy is more than reading and comprehending news reports of medical issues (which are often of poor quality – see Health News Review for sharp analysis of health news); one must also know how to navigate the complexities of the health care system, including knowing how and when to question one’s physicians and pharmacists. Continue reading...
Tags: advertising, big pharma, breast cancer, drugs, government agencies, Health Care, hormones, lawsuit, Menopause
Posted in Health Care, Law/Legal, Menopause, Pharmaceutical | 1 Comment »
December 16th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: big pharma, breast cancer, hormones, lawsuit, Menopause, Prempro, viral video
Posted in Internet, Law/Legal, Media, Menopause, Pharmaceutical | Comments Off
December 13th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
There’s a pretty good essay in this weekend’s New York Times (online here Saturday, in print Sunday in the Business section) about how hard Big Pharma has worked to market menopause as an estrogen deficiency disease. In addition to discussion of Wyeth’s advertising campaigns, the article mentions the firm’s contract with DesignWrite, a company drug makers pay to develop manuscripts for publication in medical journals, to prepare at least 60 articles for publication in medical journals on the potential benefits of hormone therapy for cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, colon cancer, vision loss and other health problems.
The article also includes access to PDFs of some of the thousands of pages of documents from Wyeth that were requested by plaintiffs in the lawsuits against the drug manufacturer. (To date, more than 13,000 people have sued Wyeth claiming that they developed breast cancer and other health problems after taking the company’s menopausal hormone drugs. As we reported three weeks ago, in ten of the twelve verdicts so far, juries have awarded significant sums to plaintiffs. ) The documents available at the New York Times include a publication plan for Wyeth from DesignWrite, a 1995 product launch speech from Wyeth’s marketing director proclaiming the company’s mission of bringing to fruition Dr. Bernadine Healy’s vision of “a world in which the vast majority of women would begin taking HRT, and we know that means Prempro, at menopause and continue on for the rest of their lives.” There’s also this handwritten note from a 1996 meeting about how to respond to a new study raising breast cancer concerns (red markings added by me): Continue reading...
Tags: advertising, big pharma, breast cancer, drugs, economics, hormones, lawsuit, Menopause
Posted in Advertising, Law/Legal, Media, Menopause | 2 Comments »
December 11th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: big pharma, boys/men, breast cancer, drugs, economics, Girls, Health Care, lawsuit
Posted in Girls, Health Care, Law/Legal, New Research, Pharmaceutical | 2 Comments »
December 10th, 2009 by Laura Wershler
Mammograms showing healthy (left) and (right) cancerous breast. Courtesy of the National Cancer Institute.
Can having too many menstrual cycles give you breast cancer? That’s what one might conclude from two unrelated articles that appeared in national newspapers this week.
First was Nicholas D. Kristof’s Op-Ed in the New York Times. Kristof had recently attended a symposium exploring whether certain common chemicals are linked to breast cancer and other ailments. The role of estrogen – both the real thing our bodies produce and the pseudo-estrogens – in breast cancer was his major example.
The real thing:
One theory starts with the well-known fact that women with more lifetime menstrual cycles are at greater risk for breast cancer, because they’re exposed to more estrogen. For example, a woman who began menstruating before 12 has a 30 percent greater risk of breast cancer than one who began at 15 or later.
The pseudo-estrogens:
One class of chemicals that creates concern — although the evidence is not definitive — is endocrine disruptors, which are often similar to estrogen and may fool the body into setting off hormonal changes. This used to be a fringe theory, but it is now being treated with great seriousness by the Endocrine Society the professional association of hormone specialists in the United States. …These endocrine disruptors are found in everything from certain plastics to various cosmetics. Continue reading...
Tags: birth control pill, breast cancer, drugs, estrogen, hormones, Menarche, Menopause
Posted in Birth Control, Health Care, Media, Menarche, Menopause, Menstruation, Newspapers, ovulation | Comments Off
November 23rd, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
There are more than 10,000 lawsuits against Wyeth/Pfizer regarding the link between PremPro and breast cancer. There have been 12 verdicts so far, and juries have awarded money to the plaintiffs in ten of those cases. The latest was announced today, in Donna Kendall v. Wyeth (Phila. CCP, June Term, 2004, No. 0965). The jury awarded Ms. Kendall $6.3 million in compensatory damages, and $28 million in punitive damages.
So far, thirteen women have settled their claims with Wyeth/Pfizer, but if awards like these continue, can we expect Pfizer soon to be offering to settle the rest?
The film clip at left is a video press release prepared by Littlepage Booth, the Houston law firm that represented both Connie Barton and Donna Kendall in their claims against Wyeth/Pfizer.
Tags: big pharma, breast cancer, lawsuit, Menopause, Prempro
Posted in Law/Legal, Menopause, Pharmaceutical | 2 Comments »
October 27th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
Connie Barton, an Illinois woman who developed breast cancer after taking Prempro for menopausal symptoms, was awarded punitive damages by a jury in Philadelphia yesterday. The jury has already awarded her $3.7 million in compensatory damages, back in September, but we will not learn the amount of punitive damages until another Philadelphia jury reaches their verdict in similar case against the Pfizer, the drug’s manufacturer. (Technically, the case was filed against Wyeth, but the two companies just completed a merger deal last week, and Wyeth is now a subsidiary of Pfizer.)
Wyeth’s attorneys successfully argued that public revelation of the amount of damages might influence the jurors in Kendall v. Wyeth. However, the jury’s finding that Wyeth ignored evidence that the drug could cause cancer is now public information. Would I sound bitter if I said I hope that news influences potential jurors?
According to the news story about Barton’s case at philly.com, Pfizer has now lost five of eight trials over its hormone-replacement drugs since cases began reaching juries in 2006. 1500 more trials against Wyeth are pending at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. But a longer story in Philadelphia Magazine reports 23 out of 31 cases set for trial have been resolved favorably for Wyeth; the company has settled five, and several are on appeal. Continue reading...
Tags: big pharma, breast cancer, lawsuit, Menopause, Prempro
Posted in Law/Legal, Menopause, Pharmaceutical | Comments Off
Readers should note that statements published in re: Cycling are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Society as a whole.
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