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Dressed to Kill (book)
Encyclopedia
Dressed to Kill is a book by Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer that proposes a link between bra
s and breast cancer
. According to the authors, the restrictive nature of a brassiere inhibits the lymphatic system
. The book's claim that bras cause breast cancer has been dismissed by the medical and scientific communities; the National Cancer Institute
, the American Cancer Society
, and the National Institutes of Health
have all concluded that there is no link between bra use and breast cancer.
because of the purported effect of the bra on lymphatic circulation. Their interpretation is that constriction from tightly worn bras inhibits the proper functioning of the lymphatic system
and leads to a buildup of fluid within the breast tissue. In addition, they state carcinogenic substances that we take into our bodies through petrochemical
ly polluted food, air and water course throughout the body, including the breast tissue, and need to be flushed from the tissues by the lymphatic system. Hence, bra-induced constriction of the breast lymphatic vessels, according to the authors, concentrates these toxins within the breast tissue, which may ultimately lead to cancer.
Singer and Grismaijer claim 70% of breast cancer cases are unexplainable by the then-current [as of 1995] known risk factors for breast cancer
. In addition, the authors claim that breast cancer is only a problem in cultures where women wear bras; in bra-free cultures, breast cancer is a rare event. In Dressed To Kill, they argue that women who wear a bra 24 hours a day are 125 times more likely to have breast cancer than women who are bra-free. Their study also claims that bra-free women have about the same incidence of breast cancer as men.
Singer and Grismaijer claim to have noticed that the Māori of New Zealand
, who are integrated into white culture and therefore wear bras, have the same rate of breast cancer, while the aboriginals
of Australia
, who are bra-free, have practically no breast cancer. The same was true for “Westernized” Japanese
, Fijians and other bra-converted cultures.
Singer and Grismaijer examined the bra wearing attitudes and behaviors of over 4,700 US women in 5 major cities. They claim about half of the women questioned had had breast cancer. Women who had had breast cancer were asked about their bra-wearing habits prior to their diagnosis of cancer. Although they did not adhere to any scientific protocols for a medical study, the authors hoped that the medical industry would follow-up with further research to either verify or refute their findings. Their study findings were:
The authors published these claims in Dressed to Kill. The book generated controversy which the authors attributed the greed of the fashion and medical industries: "The bra industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. And billions of dollars are spent each year researching and treating this disease. Ironically, ending breast cancer can cause financial hardship for many people."
To dismiss critics of their work, they claim the mainstream medical organizations all denied the link between smoking and lung cancer
for decades after the initial research was published.
". They are the founders and co-directors of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease (ISCD), located in Hawaii. Sydney Ross Singer received a bachelor's degree
in biology from the University of Utah
in 1979. He then enrolled in PhD training in biochemistry at Duke University
, and later transferred to the PhD program in anthropology, also at Duke University. Duke University gave him a master's degree
in anthropology
when he left the PhD program there. Singer later attended the University of Texas Medical Branch
at Galveston, where he entered but did not complete the MD/PhD program.
Soma Grismaijer holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies
and planning. She was trained as an optician
(a healthcare worker who fits eyeglasses and contact lenses), and is not licensed in their home state of Hawaii
.
After self-publishing
Dressed to Kill, they wrote another book about the dangers of wearing bras and several other books, in which they argue that sleeping on a tilted bed can prevent everything from Alzheimer's disease
to impotence; that defecating, urinating and sweating
more frequently and more copiously can prevent many conditions such as prostate enlargement
and the symptoms associated with menopause
; and, in The Doctor Is Out! Exposing the High Blood Pressure, Low Thyroid and Diabetes Scams, even that these three lifestyle changes can prevent high blood pressure, low thyroid conditions
, and diabetes. This last book also argues that physicians overlook these solutions at least in part because they do not earn any money from a healthy patient.
They founded the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease in 1991. All of their books are self-published through ISCD Press.
They live in Hawaii
, on a 67 acres (271,139.6 m²) rainforest area that they have set up as a sanctuary for the invasive, non-native coqui
tree frog species. Their current focus is on the dangers of sleeping on a horizontal surface.
One specific critique of the their book by Martha Molete of the Cancer Association of South Africa argues that numerous aspects of the book's claims are scientifically unsubstantiated or unproven, citing:
None of the authors' surveys have attempted to account for any of the well-known epidemiological risk factors for breast cancer
, such as number of full-term pregnancies, age at first pregnancy, obesity, Western pattern diet
, or use of medication
s such as hormone replacement therapy
. Per Molete, "the authors' statistical treatment of their obtained data appears to be flawed. They do not include the data or a detailed description of the statistical treatment of the data. The two groups, i.e. those wearing bras and those that did not, were not controlled for many other factors influencing the risk of breast cancer."
/PubMed
database revealed no published scientific studies supporting a link between bra wearing and breast cancer risk. Furthermore, no scientific publications were found which were authored by Singer or Grismaijer.
Brassiere
A brassiere is an undergarment that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. Since the late 19th century, it has replaced the corset as the most widely accepted method for supporting breasts....
s and breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. According to the authors, the restrictive nature of a brassiere inhibits the lymphatic system
Lymphatic system
The lymphoid system is the part of the immune system comprising a network of conduits called lymphatic vessels that carry a clear fluid called lymph unidirectionally toward the heart. Lymphoid tissue is found in many organs, particularly the lymph nodes, and in the lymphoid follicles associated...
. The book's claim that bras cause breast cancer has been dismissed by the medical and scientific communities; the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
, the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
, and the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
have all concluded that there is no link between bra use and breast cancer.
Background
In their book, Singer and Grismaijer argue that bra-wearing may be a major cause of breast cancerBreast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
because of the purported effect of the bra on lymphatic circulation. Their interpretation is that constriction from tightly worn bras inhibits the proper functioning of the lymphatic system
Lymphatic system
The lymphoid system is the part of the immune system comprising a network of conduits called lymphatic vessels that carry a clear fluid called lymph unidirectionally toward the heart. Lymphoid tissue is found in many organs, particularly the lymph nodes, and in the lymphoid follicles associated...
and leads to a buildup of fluid within the breast tissue. In addition, they state carcinogenic substances that we take into our bodies through petrochemical
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
ly polluted food, air and water course throughout the body, including the breast tissue, and need to be flushed from the tissues by the lymphatic system. Hence, bra-induced constriction of the breast lymphatic vessels, according to the authors, concentrates these toxins within the breast tissue, which may ultimately lead to cancer.
Singer and Grismaijer claim 70% of breast cancer cases are unexplainable by the then-current [as of 1995] known risk factors for breast cancer
Epidemiology and etiology of breast cancer
Risk factors of breast cancer may be divided into preventable and non preventable. Their study belongs in the field of epidemiology. Breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to result from multiple environmental and hereditary risk factors....
. In addition, the authors claim that breast cancer is only a problem in cultures where women wear bras; in bra-free cultures, breast cancer is a rare event. In Dressed To Kill, they argue that women who wear a bra 24 hours a day are 125 times more likely to have breast cancer than women who are bra-free. Their study also claims that bra-free women have about the same incidence of breast cancer as men.
Singer and Grismaijer claim to have noticed that the Māori of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, who are integrated into white culture and therefore wear bras, have the same rate of breast cancer, while the aboriginals
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, who are bra-free, have practically no breast cancer. The same was true for “Westernized” Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
, Fijians and other bra-converted cultures.
Singer and Grismaijer examined the bra wearing attitudes and behaviors of over 4,700 US women in 5 major cities. They claim about half of the women questioned had had breast cancer. Women who had had breast cancer were asked about their bra-wearing habits prior to their diagnosis of cancer. Although they did not adhere to any scientific protocols for a medical study, the authors hoped that the medical industry would follow-up with further research to either verify or refute their findings. Their study findings were:
- 3 out of 4 women who wore their bras 24 hours per day developed breast cancer.
- 1 out of 7 women who wore bras more than 12 hour per day but not to bed developed breast cancer.
- 1 out of 152 women who wore their bras less than 12 hours per day got breast cancer.
- 1 out of 168 women who wore bras rarely or never acquired breast cancer.
The authors published these claims in Dressed to Kill. The book generated controversy which the authors attributed the greed of the fashion and medical industries: "The bra industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. And billions of dollars are spent each year researching and treating this disease. Ironically, ending breast cancer can cause financial hardship for many people."
To dismiss critics of their work, they claim the mainstream medical organizations all denied the link between smoking and lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
for decades after the initial research was published.
About the authors
The authors are a husband-and-wife team who describe themselves as pioneers in "applied medical anthropologyMedical anthropology
Medical anthropology is an interdisciplinary field which studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives...
". They are the founders and co-directors of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease (ISCD), located in Hawaii. Sydney Ross Singer received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in biology from the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in 1979. He then enrolled in PhD training in biochemistry at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, and later transferred to the PhD program in anthropology, also at Duke University. Duke University gave him a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
when he left the PhD program there. Singer later attended the University of Texas Medical Branch
University of Texas Medical Branch
The University of Texas Medical Branch is a component of the University of Texas System located in Galveston, Texas, United States, about 50 miles southeast of Downtown Houston...
at Galveston, where he entered but did not complete the MD/PhD program.
Soma Grismaijer holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies
Environmental studies
Environmental studies is the academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. It is a broad interdisciplinary field of study that includes the natural environment, built environment, and the sets of relationships between them...
and planning. She was trained as an optician
Optician
An optician is a person who is trained to fill prescriptions for eye correction in the field of medicine, also known as a dispensing optician or optician, dispensing...
(a healthcare worker who fits eyeglasses and contact lenses), and is not licensed in their home state of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
After self-publishing
Self-publishing
Self-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design , formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR...
Dressed to Kill, they wrote another book about the dangers of wearing bras and several other books, in which they argue that sleeping on a tilted bed can prevent everything from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
to impotence; that defecating, urinating and sweating
Sweating
Perspiration is the production of a fluid consisting primarily of water as well as various dissolved solids , that is excreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals...
more frequently and more copiously can prevent many conditions such as prostate enlargement
Benign prostatic hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia also known as benign prostatic hypertrophy , benign enlargement of the prostate , and adenofibromyomatous hyperplasia, refers to the increase in size of the prostate....
and the symptoms associated with menopause
Menopause
Menopause is a term used to describe the permanent cessation of the primary functions of the human ovaries: the ripening and release of ova and the release of hormones that cause both the creation of the uterine lining and the subsequent shedding of the uterine lining...
; and, in The Doctor Is Out! Exposing the High Blood Pressure, Low Thyroid and Diabetes Scams, even that these three lifestyle changes can prevent high blood pressure, low thyroid conditions
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone.Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism worldwide but it can be caused by other causes such as several conditions of the thyroid gland or, less commonly, the pituitary gland or...
, and diabetes. This last book also argues that physicians overlook these solutions at least in part because they do not earn any money from a healthy patient.
They founded the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease in 1991. All of their books are self-published through ISCD Press.
They live in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, on a 67 acres (271,139.6 m²) rainforest area that they have set up as a sanctuary for the invasive, non-native coqui
Coquí
The Common Coquí or Coquí is a frog native to Puerto Rico belonging to the Eleutherodactylus genus of the Leptodactylidae family. The species is named for the loud sound the males make at night. This sound serves two purposes...
tree frog species. Their current focus is on the dangers of sleeping on a horizontal surface.
Criticisms
Medical and scientific bodies which have examined the book's claims have generally dismissed them on the basis of poor methodology, lack of supporting evidence, and Singer and Grismaijer's failure to consider alternate explanations besides bra use for their findings.One specific critique of the their book by Martha Molete of the Cancer Association of South Africa argues that numerous aspects of the book's claims are scientifically unsubstantiated or unproven, citing:
- Lack of controlled epidemiological data correlating bra-wearing with the risk for breast cancer
- Lack of proof that the pressure exerted by a bra reduces the flow of lymph
- Lack of proof that lymph contains carcinogens
- Lack of proof that there are carcinogens in the human body that can induce breast cancer
- Existence of published data correlating obesity with post-menopausal breast cancer
None of the authors' surveys have attempted to account for any of the well-known epidemiological risk factors for breast cancer
Epidemiology and etiology of breast cancer
Risk factors of breast cancer may be divided into preventable and non preventable. Their study belongs in the field of epidemiology. Breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to result from multiple environmental and hereditary risk factors....
, such as number of full-term pregnancies, age at first pregnancy, obesity, Western pattern diet
Western pattern diet
The Western pattern diet, also called Western dietary pattern or the meat-sweet diet, is a dietary habit chosen by many people in developed countries, and increasingly in developing countries. It is characterized by high intakes of red meat, sugary desserts, high-fat foods, and refined grains...
, or use of medication
Medication
A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...
s such as hormone replacement therapy
Hormone replacement therapy (menopause)
Hormone replacement therapy is a system of medical treatment for surgically menopausal, perimenopausal and to a lesser extent postmenopausal women...
. Per Molete, "the authors' statistical treatment of their obtained data appears to be flawed. They do not include the data or a detailed description of the statistical treatment of the data. The two groups, i.e. those wearing bras and those that did not, were not controlled for many other factors influencing the risk of breast cancer."
No supporting research
A survey of the MEDLINEMEDLINE
MEDLINE is a bibliographic database of life sciences and biomedical information. It includes bibliographic information for articles from academic journals covering medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and health care...
/PubMed
PubMed
PubMed is a free database accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez information retrieval system...
database revealed no published scientific studies supporting a link between bra wearing and breast cancer risk. Furthermore, no scientific publications were found which were authored by Singer or Grismaijer.
Scientific counterhypothesis
The Molete article also discusses the one scientific study that examined the relationship between breast cancer and bra use. This study, among 3,918 cases and 11,712 controls from 7 centers in the United States, found that premenopausal women who do not wear bras had half the risk of breast cancer compared with bra users (P about 0.09). The authors offer the hypothesis that women who do not wear bras are thinner and likely to have smaller breasts. The same study found that among postmenopausal women only bra users with larger breasts had an increased risk of breast cancer (P about 0.026). The study suggests bra cup size is a proxy for greater weight and obesity which are known risk factors for breast cancer, and that the apparent risk associated with bra use is more likely a reflection of known risk factors for breast cancer, such as obesity.Opposing views
Other medical and scientific bodies uniformly reject the book's claims about bras and breast cancer:- The National Cancer InstituteNational Cancer InstituteThe National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
(US) states that bras have not been shown to increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. - Breastcancer.org specifically answers this question, relating to bras and how breasts are touched.http://www.breastcancer.org/questions/bras.jsp
- The American Cancer SocietyAmerican Cancer SocietyThe American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
states, "There are no scientifically valid studies that show wearing bras of any type causes breast cancer." - The U.S. National Institutes of HealthNational Institutes of HealthThe National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
states, "Breast implants, using antiperspirants, and wearing underwire braUnderwire braAn underwire bra is a brassiere with a wire built into the underside of the cup intended to lift, separate, shape, and provide additional support for a woman's breasts...
s do not raise your risk for breast cancer." - In 2000, as a follow-up to misreporting of a UK study, British health professionals and "Cancer charities" stated that bras cause no increase in breast cancer risk.
See also
- PseudosciencePseudosciencePseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
, a method or belief that is said to be "scientific", but does not adhere to scientific methods - Fringe theoryFringe theoryA fringe theory is an idea or a collection of ideas that departs significantly from the prevailing or mainstream view in its particular field of study. Examples include ideas that purport to be scientific theories but have little or no scientific support, conspiracy theories, unproven esoteric...
, scientific or pseudoscientific ideas that are widely regarded as speculative or disproven - Junk scienceJunk scienceJunk science is a term used in U.S. political and legal disputes that brands an advocate's claims about scientific data, research, or analyses as spurious. The term may convey a pejorative connotation that the advocate is driven by political, ideological, financial, or other unscientific...
, a derogatory term used to describe claims that are driven by political, ideological, financial, or other unscientific motives - Science by press release, a derogatory term to describe claims that are promoted solely in the popular media instead of in formal scientific papers with full methodological details
External links
- Breast Cancer Prevention Study by the Authors
- 1997 Book review by Cindy Pearson, Executive Director of the National Women’s Health Network. Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, chairperson of the Network Board of Directors, and Virginia Soffa, M.Ed., breast cancer activist and author
- 2007 Scientific American article that lays out criticisms of Dressed to Kill
- 2010 Q&A Article in New York Times noting there is no link between bra use and cancer