Why I Got Cancer

I think that every person that has ever been diagnosed has their pet theory or theories as to why they got cancer. Here are just a few of mine:

-My father worked for NASA when I was born and we had to live in Houston.Yes, had to. There were huge mosquito infestations and they were afraid of malaria so they quarantined us and brought in the Foggers. We thought these were the coolest things EVER. My sisters and brother and I would follow it around on our bikes, or trike in my case, and pretend we were in a cloud. My mother has nightmares about this.

-I love swimming and have been in more over-chlorinated pools than I care to think about. I lived at our swim club all Summer long from about the age of 6 upwards. Or was it the zinc oxide?

-In Texas, it was considered normal to get your house fumigated for cockroaches on a regular basis. I didn't walk until I was over 2 years old so I was wallowing in it.

-Back in Colorado, there was a huge power line at the end of our block and I used to tell my mom that if anything ever happened to me-that was what did it. I could hear it humming and it looked sinister. I was 9.

-There was a company called Redfield Scope that was smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood and they made scopes for rifles. The problem with this is that they cleaned the grease off them with highly toxic material and then DUMPED IT ON SITE. It worked its way into the ground water and started seeping through the 'hood. The Brown Group Retail owned Redfield and hid this fact. There was a class action lawsuit but to no avail. They said it was without merit. Real Estate prices dropped, 8 people on our block alone got cancer (so far) . Where is Erin Brokovich when you need her? Luckily, my parents moved shortly before it all came out and were able to sell. Not so lucky for the family that moved in however.

-When I was 25, I was out of college and I decided to take off and got a one way ticket to Bangkok. I had to get about 9 scary shots before going and was given a prescription for malaria pills. These were on par with hallucinogens. I took them for the first few months and had such insane dreams that I had a hard time figuring out what was truth and what was just a dream. My mouth had a perpetual metal taste. There is no way that can be good for you.

-The sub-par meat we ate-sorry mom, but gross.

Some theories are more plausible than others but I will really never know. I had someone I have known almost my entire life insinuate that people give themselves cancer. I cannot stress how insulting this is , and if it were true- couldn't I cure myself, too?

I returned last week from Washington DC where I lobbied with the NBCC to push for the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act. When the word environment is used, most people think smokestacks but it simply means any cause that is NOT genetic. 85% of women diagnosed with BC have no family history.
Until we know what causes breast cancer, there will be no cure-plain and simple.

I'm off my soap box and out to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather.