In March 2002, after an interview with radio FM93.8, a professional whose wife had died of cancer, contacted me.

He commented that I should "campaign" for cancer prevention instead of helping people who already had cancer. In this way, no tears shall be shed from cancer.

Certainly, I agree that prevention is better than cure and made the following reply to him :

"Prevention is a "big" word. It would be best undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Singapore Cancer Society which have the financial resources to embark on such a large scale public educational program/campaign."

I also suggested that he (a member of the local Rotary club) made the request directly with the relevant bodies.

Since then, I have tried to keep pace with the public awareness program on cancer prevention. Though breast cancer is not the Number One Killer in Singapore but it has received the most attention due to the prominent effort made by Breast Cancer Foundation in raising awareness of breast cancer. Statistics has shown that the incidence of breast cancer is rising among the women population in Singapore.

Interestingly, the Breast Cancer Foundation endorsed the following statement for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2003 :

"Early detection of breast cancer through Breast Self Examination, Clinical Breast Examination and mammography can help save lives."

Important note :
It was mentioned in the book, Cancer Tips - A Handbook for Cancer Prevention and Management by James M. Metz, M.D. that there is no mammographic abnormality in 15% of the patients diagnosed with cancer- i.e. some breast cancers never show up on a mammogram. Therefore it is important to perform monthly breast self-examination and go for regular physical examinations by the doctor.

My thought : "Detection is not the same as prevention". Detection merely precedes treatment.

Instead of raising awareness of breast cancer in October 2003, the Sunday Times of 19 October 2003 dedicated 5 pages of write-up on women's obsession over their bustlines. It was reported that implants are big business, now worth an estimated S$10 million a year. It involves mainly breast enlargement that will cause interference with mammograms.

My concerns :

(1) How would this group of women save themselves through early detection of breast cancer? Perhaps the Breast Cancer Foundation should come forward to discourage them from undergoing breast enlargement that will cause interference with mammograms.

(2) Does such breast enlargement surgery increase the risk of contracting breast cancer? If only the hospitals and cancer institutions are willing to release their findings on the correlation between breast cancer and breast implants, it will certainly help this group of women make sensible decisions in their "deadly pursuit" of large bustlines.

It also reported that the bra market here, worth an estimated S$120 million a year, is booming with over 20 brands in the industry. Bras now come packed with water pads, Vitamin E sacs, air pumps, air sacs, aloe vera, and so forth.

My doubts :

(1) Would these bras produce cancer-causing agents?

(2) Do these "creative" bras bring about more health-related problems?

From the research findings of the Bra and Breast Cancer (BBC) Study carried out by Sydney Ross Singer and his wife, Soma Grismaijer, they claimed that women could minimize the risk of contracting breast cancer if they go braless. Their findings are useful even though many people are skeptical about them.

click here to read Jeff Rockel's article - Your Bra could be Killing you! based on BBC Study.

In the book, "Dressed To Kill – The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras" written by Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer, (available at the National Library), the authors provide the following guidelines if women cannot stop wearing bras altogether:

1. Reduce the time the bra is worn each day. From their findings, wearing a bra for less than 12 hours daily seems to be extremely protective against breast cancer
2. Do not wear a bra to sleep
3. Avoid bras with underwires or other stiff breast-shaping components
4. Avoid all push-up bras and most sport bras which typically compress the breasts
5. Avoid strapless bras for more than occasional use
6. Buy a proper-fitting bra. Tips for selecting proper-fitting bras are given in their book on pages 161-162

As reported, many women are obsessed with their bustlines - uplift, upsize or upgrade. They go after fanciful bras and are willing to take on the risk of breast implants for the sake of looking sexy and good. Such attitudes will definitely undermine any form of breast cancer awareness programme. If we assume that a majority goes for breast enlargement, how then can mammography be carried out? If wearing bras increase the chance of getting breast cancer, would women be willing to spot a natural bustline?

Perhaps, it is time for these women to make a choice and for some women's groups, cancer institutions and charities to launch campaigns to educate women to be contented with what nature has given them. Beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder.

Follow-up action

Actions speak louder than words. In December 2003, CancerStory.com managed to receive a monetary contribution from NTUC Income to help defray the printing cost of 5,000 pieces of bookmark that aimed to discourage women from undergoing breast enlargement. With the help of the National Library Board, these bookmarks were distributed at 22 library branches. I hope that women will make a wiser choice and not indulge in the deadly pursuit of achieving a sexy appearance.

• National Cervical Cancer Coalition(USA)
• Women's Cancer Network(USA)
• Breast Cancer Survivor, Diana Grant Dyer(USA)

In truth, though we spend so much time thinking about whether or not we have a perfect-looking pair, breasts are first and foremost functional organs : We have them so that we can feed our offspring. Eighty percent of a woman's breast is fat and connective tissue; the rest is made of glands and ducts.

There are many countries in the world where women walk around bare breasted - absolutely un-self-conscious - because breasts are simply functional body parts, no sexier than a foot or a hand.

Contrary to popular myths, large breasts do not respond better sexually than small ones, and large-busted women don't necessarily enjoy or crave sex more than women with small breasts. But so much emphasis has been placed on breast size that some women can't fully enjoy sex because they're concerned that their breasts don't measure up. That insecurity leads many women to look for methods to make their breasts larger. Of course your breasts can be enlarged by plastic surgery. But be aware that surgery can sometimes change the sensitivity and sexual response of your breasts and nipple.