1September 2013
Back to School Meet new principalS
Youth Fitness Being healthY iS Fun
Framingham State university 175 YearS oF hiStorY
September 2013
Cause Against CancerSurvivor ellie anbinder’s Foundation Focuses on prevention
2 3September 2013 September 2013
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Foundation works toward Breast cancer prevention
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importance of Youth Fitness18
Summer reading can Be Fun21
Inside
5 From the editorWhat’s special this month — in the magazine, and the area.
7 around townPeople, places, problems, good causes and occasions.
23 gotta go! Best bets for upcoming concerts, shows and events.
25 Snapshot Community residents share their photos with readers.
27 calendarYour guide to music, theater, kid stuff and lots more.
30 and another thing...A fond farewell from this month’s issue of the magazine.
ellie anbinder is a breast cancer survivor and the co-founder/executive director of art becauSe Breast cancer Foundation, which funds research to prevent the disease. Photo courtesy of David Fox Photography
on the cover
Funny night for good cause12
united way offers More Meals24
You could bea community contributor!
Framingham Life is a community public forum. In this issue, Sharon Seyller introduces herself as Fuller Middle School’s new principal. You can also be a magazine contributor; just send articles, photos, information and ideas to the email address shown below.
Departments
Photo courtesy of Rebecca Alves24
Photo by Jonathan Friedman
Photo courtesy of hibu18
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Photo courtesy of David Fox Photography14
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It was August 1991. “What? I have what?” I cried as I sat in disbelief across from the doctor who calmly explained to me that I had breast
cancer. How could this be? A million thoughts raced through my mind, “This is not happening. I have two teenage children. I live a healthy lifestyle. No one in my family has ever been diagnosed with breast cancer. This must be a mistake. Someone read my mammogram incorrectly. How could I possibly have breast cancer?”
And thus, the fight began. The diagnosis was correct. I endured surgery and radiation. My husband, daughters, other family members and friends were very supportive. And I am one of the lucky ones. I survived.
While I consider myself very fortunate to have survived, I still don’t understand how and why I had breast cancer and I wanted to find the answers. What I discovered over the next 10 years was astounding— 90 percent of women and men diag-nosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease and the diagnosis rate in women had increased from one in 25 in 1945 to a projected one in eight in 2013.
I was one of the 90 percent! If my family had no history of breast cancer and I knew that I had no genetic predisposition, then there had to be other factors.
So, together with my good friend, art consultant and then- gallery owner Joyce Creiger, Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation was formed. Our mission was to fund research that we hoped would answer the questions, “What in the environ-ment is causing breast cancer and how can the disease be prevented?”
A new fight had begun. It was one that would save lives for future generations. We met hundreds of survivors, patients and families and listened to their stories. We recruited a board of directors and a scientific advisory board. We discovered many scientists across the country whose research focused on the environmental causes of breast cancer.
In 2005, Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation awarded
its first grant to Julia Brody of the Silent Spring Institute. In this ground-breaking study, Silent Spring researchers took indoor air and dust samples from 120 homes in Cape Cod, where there was a large concentration of women diagnosed with two types of breast cancer. The researchers measured the concentrations of 89 chemicals identified as endocrine disrupting compounds, which mimic or interfere with human hormones, sometimes affecting cell growth and development. The investigators’ selection was based on the chemicals widely used in pesticides, detergents, plastics, furniture and cosmetics.
They found 67 endocrine disrupters in the air and dust, providing the first reported measurements in indoor environ-ments for more than 30 of the compounds. In all of the homes, researchers also found phthalates, which have known effects on sperm quality and the development of baby boys. And in 90 percent of the homes, they found parabens, an estrogenic class of chemicals that have been found in urine samples of almost all people tested. The researchers also demonstrated, for the first time, that alkyl phenols, which are found in detergents, are
Focused on Breast cancer preventionA foundation funds research to learn what causes the disease.
by Ellie Anbinder Community contributor
abundant in indoor air.In addition, the study provided what the researchers believe
to be the first report of the levels in U.S. household dust of the polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants, also known as PBDEs. They are found in carpets, draperies, electrical appli-ances, televisions and computers. The researchers found PBDE levels to be 10 times higher in the Cape Cod homes than those in Europe, where these chemicals are being phased out because of their suspected toxic effects.
Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation initiated its Seed the Scientists program in 2005 and has awarded more than $180,000 in grants to researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine and the University of Rochester.
a photographic journey of cancerIn 2010, Framingham photographer David Fox took us on
a photographic journey of women and men who had battled cancer and represent the faces of cancer for us.
One of the amazing survivors we met during this journey is Mike. He is in the cluster of men from Camp Lejune, N.C. diagnosed with breast cancer after being exposed to the highly contaminated drinking water on the marine base. Mike’s diag-nosis came on his 18th wedding anniversary at the age of 39.
This cluster of men with breast cancer from Camp Lejune is a warning we are affecting our environment and it is affecting us.
And then there’s Deb. She was born in Providence and was 48 years old at the time of her diagnosis. Until then, there was no history of breast cancer in her family. She told us the mutila-tion her body suffered as a consequence of breast cancer led her to become a fervent advocate with an unending desire to make a difference. For her daughter’s sake, Deb’s passion is the eradication of breast cancer.
“I feel that we as a society have a responsibility to each other to identify known carcinogens and push for federal regulations to eliminate these from our environment,” she said. “There are currently 216 known mammary carcinogens, which you are exposed to every day. Educate yourself and take action.”
Elizabeth Stanford of the Boston University School of Pub-lic Health received our $60,000 grant last year to continue her study on the effect of environmental pollutants on breast cancer stem cells. They represent a small percentage of the tumor, but are believed to be extremely resistant to current chemothera-peutics and, thereby, to be responsible for the recurrence and lethal spread of cancer cells after treatment.
Stanford’s preliminary findings have shown that activat-ing the aryl hydrocarbon receptor with environmental pollut-ants may lead to the development and/or maintenance of these breast cancer stem cells. Understanding the contribution of this environmental chemical receptor to breast cancer stem cells will help us better understand the basic molecular biology of this important cancer cell subset and to assess the contribution of environmental chemicals to breast cancer stem cell develop-ment and survival.
The past two years been busy and productive for Art be-CAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation. We have held numerous events, galas, 5K runs and wine tastings as well as a celebrity fashion show and many other educational and fundraising events.
We held a unique Night of Fashion in April at Neiman Mar-cus in Natick Mall. The event featured local celebrities Jason Varitek and his wife Catherine, who is a breast cancer survivor, Emcee Sara Underwood of Fox 25 News, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Sue Brady from Mix 104.1 and many others who modeled spring fashions along with breast cancer survivors Barbara LaRue, Nikki Longwell and Pete Devereaux. The evening was a success because while having a great time, the seriousness of our mission was well understood by all attendees.
We launched our Young Professionals Group in June during an event at Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Waltham. Our co-chairs, breast cancer survivor Nikki Longwell and Peter Smith, have enlisted more than 30 young professionals to educate their peers, hold fundraisers and work to prevent breast cancer in the future.
Longwell was “so excited to be part of an event targeting younger professionals” as she was 34 and a working mom when she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.
Smith said, “Cancer has affected many of my family mem-bers and friends. My past experiences with it have left me feel-ing helpless and frustrated. The opportunity to work with Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation allows me to be involved
From left, art becauSe Breast cancer Foundation Board chair Bill Diercks, Miss Massachusetts Sarah kidd, Jason Varitek of Boston red Sox, foundation operations manager and breast cancer survivor Barbara larue, breast cancer survivor catherine Varitek and foundation executive director and breast cancer survivor ellie anbinder. Photo courtesy of David Fox Photography
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in taking a proactive step toward destroying this disease ... Taking the fight to its doorstep instead of cleaning up after its mess.”
looking aheadSo, where do we go from here? Events and gatherings are
necessary for fundraising. We must raise money to support the research. We have planned several events for the remainder of this year, and are in the planning stages for our 2014-2015 fundraising efforts. But that is only part of the story.
Education is critical. There are 90,000 known synthetic chemicals in our environment, many of which we are exposed to every day. Only 216 of them have been tested. This is not ac-ceptable. We know breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading type of cancer death in women ages 15 to 54. It is estimated this year 232,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 40,000 women will die. Also, men are being diagnosed with breast cancer at an equally alarming rate, with about 2,240 diagnoses and more than 400 deaths estimated to occur in 2013
Funding research and education are the only answers to achieving the ultimate goal, which is preventing breast cancer. And I have committed my life to helping scientists find the answers so that women and men of all ages, ethnicities and eco-nomic backgrounds never again have to sit in disbelief across from their doctor and cry, “What? I have breast cancer? Why?”
We must educate the public on the dangers and long-term ef-fects of the 90,000 known synthetic chemicals in our air, water and products. Identification and education will lead to a safer, longer and healthier life for future generations. Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation is leading that fight.
Framingham resident Ellie Anbinder is the co-founder and executive director of Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Founda-tion, which is based in this town. For more information about the foundation, send an email to [email protected] or visit artbecause.org.
photos clockwise from bottom left, art becauSe Breast cancer Foundation’s 2013 Boston Marathon team features, from left, rob Young, alyssa adams, andrew Butler, Susan Bond, Joe Smith, karen pinette, leslie hadden and rick cohen, not pictured are Jaime whitney and henry castillo; executive Director ellie anbinder presents the first foundation grant to Julie Brody of the Silent Spring institute, shown from left are Judith lieberman, george klavens, ellie anbinder, Julie Brody and howard hall; new england patriots tight end rob gronkowski participates in the foundation’s night of Fashion fundraiser in april 2013 at neiman Marcus in natick Mall; Black and white images are part of a photographic journey showing faces of people who have battled cancer, featuring ellie anbinder, Mike and christine (last names not given); Deb cole presents a 2012 foundation grant to elizabeth Stanford of the Boston university School of public health.Photos courtesy of David Fox Photography
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