Susan Wadia-Ells, director and founder of Know Breast Cancer, lives in the small town of Manchester but has her sights set on the bigger, nation-wide picture. For the past year, she has been heading a grass-roots effort to educate women about breast cancer prevention.
In the future she hopes her message will be heard by national organizations, including the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which traditionally have focused on mammograms and finding a cure as ways to fight breast cancer.
Wadia-Ells, who has a doctorate in women's studies, has been politically involved with women's issues since the 1970s, but her attention turned to breast cancer prevention when her friend was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2005 and passed away last November. She also noticed that some of her friends who had used hormone replacement therapies later developed breast or uterine cancer.
She decided to take a year off from work and do research to find out more information. She then founded the National Breast Cancer Prevention Project in October 2007. The project is being rebranded as Know Breast Cancer.
"I just got mad enough, I guess," she said of deciding to take on the cause. She has focused on the political and economic workings of the breast cancer industry.
Wadia-Ells said there isn't enough money directed toward prevention because it isn't profitable for the health care providers and pharmaceutical companies that provide treatment and mammograms.
"There's so much research that needs to be done," she said. "But in the meantime we don't have to be sheep led to slaughter; we can be better safe than sorry."
Know Breast Cancer focuses on preventing breast cancer by educating women about potential risk factors. These risk factors include hormone therapies, toxins in cosmetics and the environment, prescription drugs, and chemicals in foods. The organization also connects and publicizes organizations that are doing prevention research.
Wadia-Ells herself has opted to go for natural supplements rather than hormone replacement therapy, and advocates toxin-free cosmetics, organic foods and exercise.
"It's the only piece of organic land you're going to own," she said of our bodies.
Know Breast Cancer is her main focus and her full time job, even though it doesn't pay a steady salary. She is the only person in Manchester working on the organization. She said she enjoys her work because it's multifaceted and serves the community.
"This is a chance for me to use all my skills to make change," she said. "Our lives are much more full when we are of service."
She is writing a book, fundraising, and hoping to set up Know Breast Cancer groups in towns with above-average invasive breast cancer rates. She hopes to raise $50,000 by the end of the year to cover the costs of running the project. But through the challenges, her energy remains high, and she has faith the project will grow.
More information about Know Breast Cancer, along with links to other prevention resources, can be found at www.knowbreastcancer.net.
Amanda Flitter can be reached at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com.
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
