An independent report revealed recently that women employed at the Toowong site of ABC's former Brisbane studios in Australia were six times more likely to develop breast cancer than other women.The site has been vacated. And the hunt is on -- for the cause of this unusually high rate of the disease.
No luck yet -- but new findings, while not definitive on what has caused this cluster, do indicate exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) is not a factor -- because the low frequency fields at the site were typical of other workplaces and residences, without any such cancer cluster.
Further testing will take place in an attempt to solve this on-going mystery, chronicled in the posts that follow.
ABC journalists walk out over cancer cluster concerns
Breast cancer cluster closes ABC studios in Australia
Connecting the clues in Australia cancer cluster
Just before my chemotherapy for breast cancer started -- when I was fantastically frightened by the toxic drugs that were about to drip into my veins -- I was told by doctors, nurses, survivors, friends that I would be just fine. I was young and strong and tough. I would easily tolerate the beating my body was about to take. This is what I was told and actually came to believe myself. I had no other choice really than to approach chemotherapy with a fighter mentality. And so I did. And I did pretty well for my first three doses of Adriamycin and Cytoxan -- given every two weeks instead of three in a dose-dense fashion -- followed by one injection of Neulasta 24 hours later to maintain normal blood counts. And then something happened. And I did not end up tolerating the chemotherapy my gut told me was a scary endeavor.
