Role of Lay Participation in Breast Cancer Studies Examined...(con't.)

“Studies of environmental causes of breast cancer are very contentious because they can have massive political ramifications,” she said. “If it’s found, for example, that a particular group of chemicals is definitively linked to breast cancer, then regulatory models and corporate practices will have to change.”

It was in 2003 that four Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Centers were established in the United States. One of the centers is located at MSU.

“The ongoing debate we’re seeing now is whether we should be switching our attention
from cure and treatment to prevention and causation,” McCormick said.

And the debate continues. Is lay participation in these centers helping advance this research?

“On the surface, things seem to be going well,” she said. “But I think what is also happening is some of the fundamental aspects of community-based, participatory research are not being addressed.”

Tom Oswald, MSU News Bulletin, March 13, 2008