Cancer & Environment Related Articles & Blog Posts

One of the most exciting reports I have ever read, Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk – What We Can Do Now, was released this week by the President’s Cancer Panel, along with significant coverage by Nicholas Kristof in The NY Times, Lyndsey Layton in The Washington Post and Liz Szabo in USA Today.

To me, this is very exciting. When parents learn about the possible dangers from chemical estrogens in the environment, such as those found in some plastics, pesticides, and personal care products, one of the first questions I’m asked is, “What to do if your child was already exposed?”

Many parents assume that our current government regulations do a pretty good job of protecting our children from exposures to unhealthy chemicals – not realizing that the current law from the 1970’s is now as ridiculous and out-of-date as a polyester leisure suit. Of the more than 80,000 synthetic chemicals now on the market in [...]

From 1973 to 1999, childhood cancers increased by 26 percent, making cancer the greatest health threat to children. Currently, one in a 100 8-year-old children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers, and the number might be as high as 1 in [...]

Parents are often surprised when I tell them that a great number of the products we use in our homes are not necessarily evaluated and declared safe by a government entity. The paints that cover your walls, the stain-resistant fabric that covers your furniture, the very carpet under your feet… these things can contain toxic [...]

As a father, I have a desire to teach, provide for and protect my children. For me, one way to do all three of these is to choose organic foods for my family. I now know this as a physician, but I first learned it as a father and a husband.