 |
In 2009, I was diagnosed with Stage 3C breast cancer. I underwent mammograms religiously every year, but the cancer wasn’t detected until it had spread. After treatment and clinical trials (I couldn’t complete chemo, as I was highly allergic to taxol), I’m luckily still here today.
For the past two years, my husband and I have been trying to eliminate chemicals from our lives, and are finding this to be nearly impossible. We switched our orchard and produce business to being completely organic, eliminated dangerous household cleaning products and stopped using almost all products containing pthalates, parabens, and synthetic fragrances. Still, we hit roadblocks. We use home canning methods to preserve a large amount of our food, but discovered that the canning lids are coated with BPA. Many of the “natural” or “organic” products show that they have harmful ingredients on their labels.
Your organization has done wonderful work in getting the word out to the average consumer. So many of my friends still think that all cosmetic products are rigorously tested and approved by some US government entity.
I am alive today because I’ve still got work to do to educate people on this issue. I donate to WVE because they inspire me to keep writing letters to companies, testifying in front of Congress, and talking to friends and family about the causes of my cancer.
Please help WVE continue to ask the tough questions and hold companies and legislators accountable for their answers. Your donation really does make a difference.
