In the early morning hours of a steamy summer day, I drove into NYC to meet my brother. I crossed over the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge as the sun was rising, and the traffic had slowed to a standstill. In just a few miles, the skies turned from golden rays of sunshine to a deep gray haze.
Flipping the radio station, I found a traffic report, and zeroed in on a bad air quality alert. The alert mentioned that ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were expected to exceed an Air Quality Index (AQI) value of 100. No surprise, as far as my eyes could see there were idling delivery trucks, buses, and commuters clogging the roadways, spewing out tailpipe pollution. The sky above was filled with billowing smoke as apartment and office buildings woke up.
I wish I could say that I was meeting my brother for a nostalgic breakfast, or an inspiring museum visit, but we were convening at Sloane Kettering Memorial Hospital. My sister-in-law, the mother of my youngest nephew, was having a mastectomy.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and according to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, “1 in 8 women today will be diagnosed with breast cancer, yet 90% of cases are not linked solely to genetics.”
Marking this month is a solemn reminder of a passage Moms Clean Air Force Co-Founder and Director Dominique Browning wrote for the introduction of my book about toxic chemicals and women’s health: “We are racing for cures for heartbreaking diseases. We should also focus on another race: a race for the causes.”
Recently, environmental health researchers inched ever so closer to finding one of many possible causes for breast cancer: High levels of particulate air pollution linked to increased breast cancer incidence.
Researchers at the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in a study that enrolled more than 500,000 people in six states, found that during a 20-year period there were 15,780 cases of breast cancer among nearly 200,000 women who had no history of breast cancer. The researchers analyzed air pollution exposure based on national air quality data near their homes during the 10-15 years before they enrolled in the study.
When the study was released, Alexandra White, head of the Environment and Cancer Epidemiology Group at NIEHS said, “We observed an 8% increase in breast cancer incidence for living in areas with higher PM2.5 exposure. Although this is a relatively modest increase, these findings are significant given that air pollution is a ubiquitous exposure that impacts almost everyone…These findings add to a growing body of literature suggesting that air pollution is related to breast cancer.”
Particle pollution is a result of burning fossil fuels and other organic material. It can come from many sources, including the tailpipes of cars and trucks, diesel engines, factories, coal-fired power plants, and wildfires. And it is often place-based. Studies have shown that communities of color, and neighborhoods with high traffic levels or industrial manufacturing plants, are more vulnerable to being exposed to elevated levels of toxic air pollution.
No woman should live in fear of losing her breasts or life because of the environment she lives in. Yet, with every mammogram, the fear of breast cancer looms in all women and those who love them.
So, we look to environmental health experts who study the air we breathe, the water we drink, the products we use, and the food we eat, to continue to guide doctors, and help women, men and children eliminate exposures to cancer. And, as citizens, we must demand our politicians continue to legislate for strong tailpipe pollution protections and cleaner air for all communities, while amping up a rapid transition to zero-emissions vehicles.
Two months after my sister-in-law’s surgery, she is recovering. And like the more than 100,000 US women who will undergo some form of mastectomy this year, she’s been able to breathe a little easier knowing the health horrors of the last few months are behind her.
TELL PRESIDENT BIDEN & EPA: MOVE QUICKLY TO FINALIZE STRONG POLLUTION PROTECTIONS