July 2, 1997-- United Methodist Women (UMW) are taking the lead in linking breast cancer to environmental toxins by participating in the upcoming First World Conference on Breast Cancer in Kingston, Ontario. UMW Mission Coordinator for North Illinois Conference, Irma Clark, will attend the event slated for July 13-17.
Pamela Sparr, executive secretary for environmental justice of the Women’s Division, sees this as a follow-up measure to the United Methodist Church’s General Conference resolution on dioxins last year. "The United Methodist Church calls on cancer research organizations to move to the prevention-based approach to cancer research and funding, including more studies on the relationships between cancer and chlorine-based toxins in the environment," states the 1996 resolution.
The resolution cites the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 1994 report on The Scientific Reassessment of Dioxin, which concludes that toxic chemicals such as dioxin are responsible for an increasing rate in testicular, prostate, and breast cancer among men and women. In the United States alone, breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women ages 35-55.
President of the Women’s Division, Sara Shingler, recommended Clark because of the experience she will bring to the world conference and to educating United Methodist Women following the event. Clark earned a Bachelor and Master degree in nursing from the Tuskegee Institute and a Ph.D. in Public Health from the College of St. Francis in Chicago. A long-time public health-worker, Clark currently works for the Chicago Department of Health as a public health screener for breast cancer. Other honors include an invitation from Hillary Clinton to participate in a panel she hosted in Chicago on health care issues.
Sparr says that Clark’s opportunity is a first step in educating United Methodist Women and others about the links between toxic chemicals and reproductive health problems in women and men.
"Breast cancer is a problem that has affected many United Methodist Women personally, either because they have struggled with it themselves or because they have had a relative or friend who has struggled with it," states Sparr.
"We are going to this conference to learn more about the environmental factors behind this epidemic," says Sparr. Besides representing the Women’s Division and United Methodist Women at this conference, Irma Clark will serve as a speaker and resource person following the event.
United Methodist Women and the Women’s Division represent an organization comprising one million members, whose purpose is to foster spiritual growth, help others develop leadership skills, and advocate for social justice. They raise more than $25 million a year for programs and projects related to women, children, and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world.