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June 1, 2000
Breast Cancer: Cause and Controversy
Digging Deeper
Merely massaging some statistics is hardly what is being demanded in Marin County.
Evidence of the prevailing sentiment came this past February, when a big crowd turned out for a local health department meeting to establish the early contours of a study plan.
All sought more ambitious research than has been done before, to look deeply into the Marin County environment and demographic facts. The goal is a scrutiny of the community's health status on par with the inquiry being conducted in Long Island -- on a slightly smaller scale.
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I dont think anyone has drilled down deep enough to answer a lot of the questions the community has been asking." | |
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"I'm not dubious about anything," she said, instead professing what seemed to be an aggressive state of neutrality.
Community voices
"I'm assembling the ability to analyse the data," Rubin said, outlining a step-by-step "linear plan" to find out everything there is to know about breast cancer, and perhaps other forms of cancer, in Marin County.
Under Rubin's plan, the health department is raising money to hire an epidemiologist, and then will assemble in one central place all data presently available. The final step is to undertake new studies that will plug gaps in that existing database.
Throughout the process, Rubin wants to be sure community voices are heard at every step. Prehn's statistical work may quell some fears of a "hot zone" of breast cancer in Marin, but the unease remains.
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The 46-year-old mother of two worries most about what might be lurking in water, perhaps something no one is testing for.
"It's not like we are being sprayed every day by cropdusters," she said. "I don't think Marin has a lot of air pollution. But everywhere you turn is something that could be dangerous."
Search for funds
Nancy Rubin, the Marin County head of public health, promises to get to the bottom of the mystery as best she can.
"I don't think anyone has drilled down deep enough to answer a lot of the questions the community has been asking," she said.
One of her first steps was to seek a $130,000 budget appropriation from the Marin County Board of Supervisors for the initial epidemiology studies, and to establish a partnership to carry out the study with the University of California at Berkeley's School of Public Health.
Another $250,000 has been earmarked by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the search is on for more state and federal funds.
The money may not be easy to come by, but this is Marin. Wealth and political clout go hand-in-hand.
If you're poor, black and live in San Francisco, your experience will be very different.
Next: Plague of Neglect
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Breast Cancer: CAUSE & CONTROVERSY by Carl Hall photographs by Pico  SIDEBARS: Photo Gallery: Breast cancer survivors carry on. (Pico) Long Island: A mammoth research effort and its critics. (Hall) Risk factors offer questions and answers. (Wilson)
Toxic Links: How do we know if a chemical is dangerous? (Wilson)
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