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Dear Chris ,

Thanks for signing the petition to insurance CEOs. If enough of us sign, we'll give Melanie and other people hurt by the insurance industry greed some real support. But it will take a LOT more of us getting involved to convince these CEOs to give up their million-dollar bonuses and do the right thing. Can you help spread the word by forwarding this message to 5 friends right now?

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http://www.truemajority.org/standwithmelanie/tym

Hey there,

I just heard a story that you need to hear too:  A few years ago, Melanie Shouse was living the American dream when she transformed an old Dominos storefront into an expansion of her home business. But just as the store was opening, Melanie was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and given months to live.

Melanie had insurance, and she went straight to the experts at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. Working with the world-renowned doctors there, she's beaten the odds and stayed healthy for years. But now her insurance company, a subsidiary of WellPoint, is refusing to pay for the medication her doctors recommend.

So Melanie got mad. And last week Melanie went to WellPoint's local office in St. Louis to confront CEO Angela Braly - who makes almost $10 million a year in salary and stock benefits, but defends dropping people like Melanie's insurance when they get sick.

Braly refused to meet with Melanie, but next week she'll be in Washington, D.C. for a convention of the biggest insurance company executives in America. This conference is the best chance for people like Melanie to confront the insurance company CEOs who denied them care.

I signed this petition to back up Melanie and people like her, can you do the same?

http://www.truemajority.org/standwithmelanie/tym

Thanks!

Buying Pink

  pinkribbonIf you have been seeing pink ribbons everywhere in the past two weeks it because October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is designed to raise the public consciousness about breast cancer, the importance of early detection, and to encourage women to do self examinations and get mammograms. No doubt, this is an important and worthy undertaking.

Companies have joined in to help raise money for various breast cancer organizations typically by promising to donate X cents or X dollars for every product sold bearing a pink ribbon. A maximum donation is often stated in the advertising. So many companies have joined in doing these promotions dubbed “cause marketing”, that store shelves and ads are filled with pink ribbon items.

Some women with breast cancer are now speaking out about the commercialization of their disease. They don’t like the fact that some companies appear to be profiting from their pain.

“Many breast cancer survivors like Zielinski find themselves conflicted over this little powerful ribbon. Some survivors feel companies are exploiting breast cancer, marketing themselves as philanthropic outfits that care about women when what they mostly care about is the pink ribbon’s enormous ability to boost profits. Some just feel overwhelmed by the constant pink reminder, especially in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, of a disease that has forever altered their lives.” — Sick of Pink, Boston Globe Magazine, October 4, 2009

Poking around the Internet, Mouse Print* discovered that Buy.com was promoting its own very pink “Breast Cancer Awareness Store.”

buypink

Among the items being sold there are pink luggage and even pink flash drives from PNY.  In many cases, there is no specific disclosure of how much money of your purchase will be donated to breast cancer causes.

*MOUSE PRINT: Some items just say, “Portions of the proceeds of the sale of this flash drive go the Susan G. Koman for the cure foundation.”

The site also did not appear to say whether it was actually Buy.com or the products’ manufacturers who were making the contributions.

*MOUSE PRINT: A public relations representative for Buy.com when asked by Mouse Print* replied:

“As part of Buy.com’s National Breast Cancer Month Promotion, the participating manufacturers are making the donation when each item is sold.”

While manufacturers need retailers to promote pink products in order to donate the sums they have promised, some consumers might erroneously have believed that this retailer was also making a contribution derived from the profit on the sale of these pink items.

At you at risk for breast cancer? Know the key factors

By Mary Anne Swanstrom

October 01, 2009, 7:00AM

breast cancer prevention.jpgMonthly breast self exams are one of the many tools women have to improve their chances of avoiding breast cancer.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- You'll be happy to know that when it comes to breast cancer, Alabama is among the states with the lowest incidence of the disease.

You should be alarmed, however, that Alabama is among those with the highest number of deaths from breast cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Alarmed enough to do as much as you can to lower your risk of developing breast cancer. Dr. Valerie Johnson of Huntsville Breast Center said if you want to consider your risk factors, the first place to look is ... down.

"Just being a woman is your greatest risk factor," said Johnson, a radiologist who has been reading mammograms for 26 years, 18 of those in Huntsville.

The second place to look is ... up, at your family tree.

"Usually a first-degree relative would be the strongest risk factor; we know that if a woman has had breast cancer at the age of 45, her daughters should get baseline mammograms when they are 35," she said.

Other first-degree relatives developing breast cancer, such as sisters and aunts, should tip off a woman that she is at high risk for developing breast cancer, too. Breast cancers develop because genetic material - DNA, the instruction manual for our cells - changes. Some DNA changes are inherited; when tumor suppresser genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are mutated, they no longer cause cells to die at the right time, opening the door for cancer.

And yet women with no history of breast cancer in their families still develop it. A healthy immune system cultivated with good lifestyle factors and behaviors will help fight the incidence of cancer and disease in general. But some behaviors have been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

Carrying extra weight, for example.

"Overweight increases your body's amount of estrogen, and that's an added risk," Johnson said. "Estrogen doesn't cause breast cancer, but if you do have breast cancer, it can cause it to grow faster."

This is because certain types of breast cancer have estrogen receptors, causing cancers to rapidly increase in size. And in breast cancer survivors, those who were obese when diagnosed were 40 percent more likely to develop a second cancer, according to a study published in the Sept. 8 Journal of Clinical Oncology. The best defense? Maintain a healthy weight with proper diet and exercise, and don't drink or smoke.

Think Pink logo for breast cancer stories

"We do know that communities that don't smoke and drink have less cancer of all types," Johnson said.

The Mayo Clinic recommends limiting alcohol -- whether wine, beer or mixed drinks -- to less than one drink a day, or don't drink at all.

Age is also a factor: The older you are, the greater your risk of breast cancer, Johnson said. And in young women, pregnancy can contribute to risk. It is still undetermined whether oral contraceptives are linked to the disease.

There are indications, however, that long-term use of hormone therapy may undermine breast cancer prevention. Results from the Women's Health Initiative study raised concerns about use of hormones in treating symptoms of menopause.

"They did find that in some instances, there was some greater incidence of breast cancer in women that took both the estrogen and progestin, but it's still an issue of debate."

The study recommends that women discuss options to estrogen therapy, such as nonhormonal therapies, dietary changes and exercise, or using the lowest dose for as short a time as possible to affect symptoms with their physicians to minimize risks.

The Mayo Clinic also recommends that women be wary about exposure to pesticides. Because the molecular structure of some pesticides mimics that of estrogen, researchers have found that "women with elevated levels of pesticides in their breast tissue" have an increased risk. Limited exposure is recommended until more is known about the relationship.

The greatest preventive medicine for breast cancer remains knowledge, experts say: Women should take responsibility for their health by minimizing risk factors and getting annual mammograms.

"A screening mammogram is 92 percent accurate for early breast cancer detection," Johnson said. "I would also encourage women to continue doing the breast self-examination.

"Even though it's only about 40 percent accurate, it does sometimes raise questions about areas of concern."

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