Last Friday, Teresa Heinz Kerry and Heinz Family Philanthropies hosted its 11th Annual Conference on Women's Health and the Environment in Boston. I was fortunate to be able to attend and take away a wealth of information, knowledge,and initiative.

Teresa opened the conference, speaking about her childhood in Africa, growing up a physician's daughter, familiar with illnesses and diseases. In her soft-spoken way, she warned of the ever-present toxins and pollutants in our environment, causing illness in children, women, and men alike, and how, in the course of our day, we would learn what makes us sick, and what we can do to create a safer place for us and future generations.

In her keynote address - The Secret History of Cancer and Women, Dr. Devra Davis spoke of the war on cancer, and how we have been fighting the wrong battles throughout history. Instead of targeting the causes, such as tobacco, alcohol, and environmental hazards, the target has been the disease itself.

Leaders of industries that produced cancer-causing materials largely directed this effort. It lay in their interest to find cures for the disease, but not preventing it. Dr. Davis gave but one of many examples:

Did you know that in 1977, shortly before a proposed investigation was announced into the safety of Aspartame, G.D. Searle, the major producer of Aspartame, hired Donald Rumsfeld as CEO of the company? He had just left office as Defense Secretary. He would prove his true worth (not his pharmaceutical expertise, but his connections to Washington) when, the day after Reagan was inaugurated in 1981, Searle reapplied for FDA approval. Ignoring all previous reviews, the new FDA commissioner Arthur Hayes approved aspartame in dry products on May 19th, 1981.

An example of bureaucracy and professional vanity getting in the way of women's health was rather shocking to hear:
Even though pap smears had first been proposed in 1928, they were not used as diagnostic and preventative test until the 1950s. Why? Because surgeons and doctors were not willing to relinquish diagnostic testing to 'mere laboratory workers' with no medical degree. They argued that only tissue removed from the uterus by a surgeon could be a reliable sample.
Surgeons argued with gynecologists who thought that regular observation and tissue removal rather than hysterectomies were the answer. (Surgeons likely saw their paychecks dwindle at this prospect). The decades-long fight was at the expense of countless women's health and reproductive abilities.

The morning panel's discussion moved into how we can use science to improve our lives.
Panelists included:

Dr. Davis, who heads up the world's first Center on Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Tyrone Hayes, PhD, who focuses his research work on the effects of endocrine disrupting pesticides on amphibian growth development. He originally consulted with and did research for Novartis, which became the agri-chemical company Syngenta. His laboratory, showed, among other things, that the number one selling herbicide atrazine chemically castrates and feminizes male amphibians at even low exposure.
The company prevented Dr Hayes from publishing his findings or even presenting them at meetings. In 2000, he resigned and published his findings.

Wilma Subra, President of the Subra Company, and technical advisor to Lousiana Environmental Action Network. Ms. Subra provides technical assistance to citizens concerned with their environment by combining technical research and evaluation.

Shanna Swan, PhD, Professor and Associate Chair for research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

The afternoon session included a surprise speaker, who introduced his wife, and the afternoon's keynote speaker. Watch for him in the following video: