We never did go to the free food on Sunday as we found out it was put on by the fascist party only, so we stayed at home and had another nice quiet day, Del phoned Sammy and I phoned Lau, so a family day. Voting is this Sunday, so I shall be giving mine to the new Independent party, who are going to work for the collective rather than a few individuals, well that is what they say, also they are the greenest, advocating renewable energy and helping agricultural work; there seems to be an awful lot of the Spanish who are backing this guy which is good, but some say the mayor will get back in as he now has a woman as his side kick, would be a shame as this guy is very much into lining his own pocket and was only stopped from reopening a quarry here a couple of years ago due to strong pressure, he has also told many folks that they would get planning permission for house building on the campo, knowing full well that the Junta of Andalucia is clamping down hard on new builds and then they come along and tell people to knock em down, the fascists don't really stanbd a chance I am glad to say, especially as they want to bring industry to the village - arggggggg, anyway we shall see what occurs.
While I am at it here is a big moan to the UK - Sammy sneaked her phone into hospital so she could text us a.s.a.p. apparently the reason folks can't take their phones into hospital in the UK is because of a deal set up between the national health board and one of the phone companies, I shall find out which to name and shame later, this deal says the hospitals ban the use of personal phones so that folks have to use this company who charge something like 80p per min to phone in and 60 to phone out, work it out, it is just such a scam and taking advantage of very vulnerable people, makes my blood boil......oops we keep getting power cuts and surges, thanks be to our cpu units.......
Back again, had to reboot as that was quite a long cut out
I received this in an email from a friend this morning and thought I would share - I have never had a mammogram and never intend to, much to the horror of the ladies of my age - who all went along for one a few months ago, I was the only one who didn't, I believe that traumatising the body in any way and yep this is a traumatic experience for the body, is detrimental and can cause more problems than actually help, this story just adds more fuel to my fire and funnily enough someone was advising me the other day to try hrt, they think I am mad because I said no way josé, I said no for the cruelty reasons but I see from this article that there are other reasons for giving it a body swerve, anyway I have gone back to taking sulphurC, which does the job without any nasties
Breast Cancer Awareness Month Story |
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| Every October since 1985, the recognizable symbol of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, pink ribbons, are displayed on TV, poster and magazine advertisements as well as proudly adorn women's lapels. The multitudes of runs, hikes, walks and other fundraising events raise hundred of millions of dollars to conquer that dreaded scourge of the modern woman, breast cancer. High-profile companies like Avon, Lee Denim and Revlon have joined ranks along with the Susan G. Komen Foundation's "Race for the Cure" and the L.A. City of Hope Hospital's "Walk for Hope." Popular celebrities lead the charge. Each year 180,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 44,000 will die of the disease. The U.S. has one of the highest breast cancer rates in the world. Fifty years ago the incidence for a woman's life-time risk was one in 20. Now it has skyrocketed to one in eight. Clearly the so-called war on cancer has not even made a dent in to the breast cancer epidemic as the rates continue to climb at the rate of 1 percent a year. The motto of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is "Early Detection is Your Best Protection." The National Cancer Institute stated in 1995 that "Breast cancer is simply not a preventable disease." This tune was reiterated in 1997 by the American Cancer Society's announcement that "there are no practical ways to prevent breast cancer -- only early detection." [1] So mammograms are the front line of defence. Celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell offer free t-shirts with the honorable words "I've been Squished" if you'll just make a date with your local x-ray department. So let's all join in and wave our pink ribbons and don those running shows and take to the roads, right? Before you get swept up by the emotional frenzy of this call to arms, there is something you must know. Breast Cancer Awareness Month's primary sponsor and the mastermind of the event in 1985 was Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, now known as AstraZeneca. Zeneca is the company that manufactures the controversial and widely prescribed breast cancer drug, tamoxifen. All TV, radio and print media are paid for and must be approved by AstraZeneca. It is less known that Zeneca also makes herbicides and fungicides. One of their products, the organochlorine pesticide acetochlor, is implicated as a causal factor in breast cancer. Its Perry, Ohio chemical plant is the third largest source of potential cancer-causing pollution in the U.S., spewing 53,000 pounds of recognized carcinogens into the air in 1996. [2] When it comes to the environmental carcinogens found in pesticides, herbicides, plastics and other toxic chemicals, there is booming silence by all Breast Cancer Awareness Month programs. Did the alarming increase of breast cancer rates just mysteriously happen? Or perhaps, the focus on the cure has conveniently ignored the cause? After all, it wouldn't really be good PR for Zeneca to have it known that their chemical products directly contribute to the breast cancer epidemic. Many experts predicted as far back as 30 years ago that cancer rates would increase citing an explosion of synthetic chemicals. From 1940 through the early 1980s production of synthetic chemicals increased by a factor of 350. Billions of tons of substances that never exited before were released into the environment. Yet only 3 percent of the 75,000 chemicals in use have been tested for safety. [3] These toxic time bombs are everywhere -- in our water, air and food. They are also found in the workplace, in schools, in household cleaners, cosmetics and personal care products. Women who live near toxic waste dumps have 6.5 times the incidence of breast cancer. A survey conducted by Dr. Mary Wolff of Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York found that women with breast cancer had four times the levels of DDE found in non-carcinogenic tumors. [4] Also, another study investigating why upper-class women in the community of Newton, Massachusetts had higher breast cancer rates than the lower economic women. [5] The researchers attributed the increase to greater use of professional lawn care service and more dry cleaning. The pesticide/breast cancer link was stunningly highlighted in research from Israel, which linked three organochlorine pesticides detected in dairy products to an increase of 12 types of cancer in 10 different strains of mice. After public outcry in 1978 forced the Israeli government to ban the pesticides benzene hexachloride, DDT, and lindane, breast cancer mortality rates, which had increased every year for 25 years, dropped nearly 8 percent for all age groups and more than a third for women ages 25-34 in 1986. [6] The American Cancer Society was founded with the support of the Rockefeller family in 1913. Members of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry have long had a place on its board. Could that have something to do with the fact that the American Cancer Society's latest report on cancer prevention makes no mention of environmental factors? Perhaps we can forgive Zeneca's involvement with carcinogenic chemicals, since it researched and patented the most popular breast cancer treatment, Tamoxifen, grossing $500 million annually. Perhaps not. On May 16, 2000 the New York Times reported that the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences listed substances that are known to cause cancer. Tamoxifen was included in that list!! [7] It is known that tamoxifen causes uterine cancer, liver cancer and gastrointestinal cancer. After just two to three years of use, tamoxifen will increase the incidence of uterine cancer by two to three times. The treatment for uterine cancer is a hysterectomy. In addition, tamoxifen increased the risk of strokes, blood clots, eye damage, menopausal symptoms, and depression. The biggest shock of all is the fact that tamoxifen will increase the risk of breast cancer! The journal Science published a study from Duke Universtiy Medical Center in 1999 showing that after 2-5 years, tamoxifen actually initiated the growth of breast cancer! So, Zeneca, the originator of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the manufacturer of carcinogenic petrochemicals, carcinogenic pollutants and a breast cancer drug that causes at least four different types of cancer in women, including breast cancer. Is something wrong with this picture? Since the Breast Cancer Awareness Month spin doctors claim that breast cancer is "simply not a preventable disease," the focus has shifted to the theme of early detection. Women are now encouraged to get their early mammogram. At one time, only women 50 years or older were told to get this screening. Now the campaign is targeting 40-year-olds and even women as young as 25. However, detecting breast cancer with mammography is not the same as a protection from breast cancer. Questions are being raised about the validity of mammograms. A mammogram is an x-ray. The only acknowledged cause of cancer by the American Cancer Society is from radiation. When it comes to radiation, there is no safe level of exposure. "There is clear evidence that the breast, particularly in premenopausal women, is highly sensitive to radiation, with estimates of increased risk of up to one percent for every RAD (radiation absorbed dose) unit of x-ray exposure. Even for low dosage exposure of two RADs or less, this exposure can add up quickly for women having an annual mammography," notes Samuel Epstein, M.D., professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health. "More recent concern comes from evidence that one percent of women, or over one million women in the United States alone, carry a gene that increases their breast cancer risk from radiation fourfold." [8] In addition, mammography provides false tumor reports between 5 and 15 percent of the time. False positive results cause women to be re-exposed to additional x-rays and create an environment of further stress, even possibly leading to unneeded surgery. "Furthermore," says Dr. Epstein, "while there is a general consensus that mammography improves early cancer detection and survival in post-menopausal women, no such benefit is demonstrable for younger women." Still, the American Cancer Society recommends annual or biannual mammography for all women ages 40 to 55 or earlier. "Mammograms increase the risk for developing breast cancer and raise the risk of spreading or metastasizing an existing growth," says Dr. Charles B. Simone, a former clinical associate in immunology and pharmacology at the National Cancer Institute. Safer and even more effective diagnostic techniques like infrared thermography have been vigorously attacked by the Breast Cancer Awareness organizations. [9] It is also noteworthy to point out that General Electric, a major polluter in PCBs in the Hudson River, N.Y., manufactures mammography machines. So all the hullabaloo that comes each October, enlisting women's support and hard-earned cash does nothing to really eliminate the cause of this devastating disease. Instead, women's heart-felt desires and good intentions to find the cause and cure are usurped by the hidden agendas of major transnational corporations pushing their toxic drug treatments and diagnostic tools that actually create even more breast cancer. Is it really profitable to find safe, non-toxic cures and screening methods? Women can make the difference in eliminating breast cancer. The breast cancer epidemic is not some great mystery. The causes of cancer are already known. Toxic diets, toxic lifestyles, toxic environments, toxic drug treatments and toxic diagnostic techniques cause cancer. Corporations are only interested in increasing their profits and ensuring their tentacles of control not in actual solutions. When it comes to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, women must invest their time and money into other projects, initiatives and treatments that will truly create change. Some of the most immediate steps women can take toward creating a preventative program include:
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is indeed a powerful time to educate, awaken and empower women to the real causes, preventative measures and truly effective cures for breast cancer. But, let's not be duped or compromised in the process. |
Gifts From The Universe
Accepting Your Family
Families can contain a fascinating grouping of personalities. Despite the potential
for so many to have similar traits, there are many different ways to express them.
As people marry into families and have children, even more personalities enter the
picture. There may be some people that we would not choose to be related to, but
that's what friends are for.
If we trust in a universe that has a higher purpose for everything, then we must
believe that family members are in our lives for a good reason. These reasons may be
easy to see and appreciate with some, but others may offer us a challenge. With
those, we can look for something we can learn or perhaps teach. In the modern world
where everyone seeks to be individuals, many move far away from their families in an
attempt to escape them. But when we've successfully built a world around us that
requires no one's help, our families are the people who are still attached to us. We
can still choose whether or not to honor the family ties, and how to treat each
other, but the fact remains that we are energetically tied to our families.
Our families help us see where we have come from so that we may more clearly decide
where we'd like to go. If we can learn to accept our families for who they are, then
we go out into the world armed with the ability to deal with anyone. Some families
are better than others at preparing us for the world. What we learn from our
families, even if they are simply blank spots on our family trees, becomes the basis
of our identities as individuals. Rather than denying our connections, we can choose
to accept their presence in our lives. Acceptance does not mean we have to like
them; we simply acknowledge that we are connected to them and honor that connection
for like it or not, there is a reason. When we can embrace all that they bring into
our experience, we may be grateful for all we have learned from them and have to
learn, while we experience everything that comes with family fully and completely.
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