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Focus on breast cancer prevention, group urges
A Montreal breast cancer action group wants consumers to stop buying "pink ribbon" products and instead give money directly to organizations that fund breast cancer prevention research.
"I am offended and tired of companies slapping pink ribbons on their products, when their products continue to contain known, suspected or potential carcinogens," Carol Secter, a board member of Breast Cancer Action Montreal, said at a news conference Wednesday.
The group contends that the Pink Ribbon campaign mainly benefits corporations, many of which still sell products with ingredients linked to cancer.
These companies, the group contends, donate an undisclosed fraction of their pink ribbon profits to research, and most of that research is dedicated to searching for a cure, or for breast cancer treatment. Only about 5 percent of the money collected for breast cancer goes to research into prevention of the disease.
"None of us are saying that research on treatments or finding a cure is not important. But the money going there is out of proportion with the percentage that goes into finding the root causes of breast cancer," Sector said.