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May 1, 2010
ANSWERING ALL OF THE QUESTIONS
What is causing all of this breast cancer, the primary female malignancy in every part of the world? What is the best way to treat the disease given the seemingly endless treatment options? What are the best strategies for reducing one’s risk? What is really new and promising in breast cancer research, as opposed to what is just a rebuttering of yesterday’s stale information? And, most importantly, will we ever eradicate this horrible disease – or even a portion of it?
Women of all ages, from every corner on the planet, want and need answers to these tough but timely questions. And while no single foundation or organization or agency, or even government, can provide all of the answers, Breast Health & Healing is committed to trying to get at least one critically important question answered, Does a virus cause breast cancer in women?
The vast majority of women have never even heard about a breast cancer virus. (Just go to this link to see the documentary film about the virus; it includes interviews with average "women on the street," none of whom had ever heard of it). Yet a breast cancer virus, found to cause breast cancer in more than 90% of infected mice, was discovered in 1936. In 1995, after decades of work, Dr. Beatriz Pogo found evidence of a very similar virus – which she named the “human mammary tumor virus, HMTV" in approximately 40% of the breast cancer specimens she examined. It is now called the Pogo Virus, but I like to call it the pink virus because I think women "get that." Dr. Polly Etkind, working at the Sloan-Kettering Institute in the 1990’s heard about Dr. Pogo’s discovery and decided to see if she could find evidence of HMTV in the specimens in her lab - and she did: again, approximately 40% of breast cancer specimens examined showed evidence of HMTV. Just last month, Dr. James Lawson looked again, with exactly similar results. (Click here for a link to view the details)
If we can answer the question, Does this virus cause breast cancer in women, then we can move on quickly to answer another series of complimentary questions and potentially take a huge portion of breast cancer off the table entirely: How is it transmitted, How does the infection progress to cancer, Which breast cancer survivors have this viral form of the disease, Who else is infected with the virus but has not yet developed breast cancer, What therapies can be applied to breast cancer survivors who have the viral form of breast cancer, What therapies can be offered to women who are infected but do not yet have breast cancer, What portion of infected women will eventually develop breast cancer, What targeted therapies can be developed to treat this form of the disease, and How long will it take to develop a vaccine to protect all future generations of women from HMTV-induced breast cancer?
To answer these questions we must begin by answering the first: Does a virus cause breast cancer in women? Mark my word, this question will be answered, hopefully without our having to wait another seventy years. Too much is at stake. Too many lives are on the line. The price in blood (and breasts) and treasure is just too excruciatingly high.
So, while we cannot answer all of the questions about breast cancer in my lifetime, I am certain that we can answer this one. Let’s do it, shall we?
Regards,
Kathleen T. Ruddy, MD
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