New Book Breaks Ground in Addressing Breast Health of Girls and Teens

"Taking Care of Your 'Girls,'" from Breastcancer.org founder and her teen
daughter, launches new movement toward breast cancer prevention and breast
health awareness among younger women

NEW YORK, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- A new book by the founder of
Breastcancer.org -- the #1 online resource for breast health and breast cancer
information -- and her teenage daughter addresses one of the most confusing
and often fearful topics in a girl's life: her breast development and breast
health. In "Taking Care of Your 'Girls,'" acclaimed breast oncologist Dr.
Marisa Weiss and her daughter Isabel Friedman cut through all the myths and
unreliable information about breasts and breast development. They reveal the
real risks and actionable steps girls can take to reduce their risk of getting
breast cancer.
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As the first and only book of its kind, "Taking Care of Your 'Girls'"
represents a key turning point in the conversation about breast care: a
movement toward breast cancer prevention and breast health awareness among
girls at a much younger age than traditional prevention efforts.
"Breastcancer.org is pioneering this effort through a series of
initiatives aimed at girls in particular," says Dr. Weiss. "We want to reach
young women at that critical age when they have so many questions and yet are
bombarded with excess, irrelevant, or incorrect information.
"Girls are surrounded by breast cancer messaging geared to adults, but
they lack reliable information geared just for them. As a result, we felt
compelled to step up and take the leadership position in this area. Our
outreach efforts are driven by groundbreaking research and include school
programs and an awareness campaign about the environmental influences on
breast health."
The foundation of the book is 2 1/2 years of research that Dr. Weiss and
Breastcancer.org conducted with more than 3,000 girls (ages 8-18) and mothers
all across the U.S. As a woman, doctor, and mother, Dr. Weiss knew that the
girls she spoke with would have a lot of questions about breast health and
development, but she was struck by many of the findings, including:
-- Over 25% of girls have perceived a normal change in their breasts to be
a symptom of breast cancer.
-- Over 20% of girls think breast cancer is caused in part by infection,
tanning, drug use, stress, and breast injury or bruising; however, none
of these are risk factors.
-- Nearly 75% percent of girls have someone close to them who has had
breast cancer.
-- Most girls are worried that someone in their family might get breast
cancer.
-- Few girls know how to reduce their risk of breast cancer.

In response to their findings, Dr. Weiss and her daughter set out to
separate the myths from the facts, and offer both medical and motherly advice
as well as a peer-to-peer perspective. They answer some of the most compelling
questions that girls have about their changing bodies, from: "Is there a
perfect, correct, or average breast size?" to "Is it safe to use
antiperspirants and cell phones?"
"The importance of knowing your 'girls' both inside and out has never been
more important," says Dr. Weiss, "and no woman is ever too young to start
practicing good breast health.
"During the ten years of breast 'construction,' a girl's food, water,
beverages, and air she breathes are the building blocks of her new breast
tissue -- and lay the foundation of her future breast health."
Other organizations have joined ranks with Breastcancer.org to support
this Prevention Initiative, including Comcast who, with Dr. Weiss, created VOD
(video-on-demand) segments for the Comcast Pink Ribbon campaign to air this
fall during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
"What we want to achieve with this book and other awareness initiatives
such as our mother-daughter school assemblies is an earlier dialogue with our
girls about this critically important health concern."
For a link to Breastcancer.org's video about their outreach to girls,
please visit: http://girlsprevention.breastcancer.org .
If you would like to speak with Dr. Weiss, please contact Davia Temin or
Suzanne Oaks of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@teminandco.com.
About the Authors
Dr. Marisa C. Weiss is the president and founder of Breastcancer.org, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to providing expert medical information on
breast health and breast cancer. She currently practices at Lankenau Hospital
in the Philadelphia area, where she serves as the director of Breast Radiation
Oncology and the director of Breast Health Outreach.
Her daughter, Isabel Friedman, will start college at the University of
Pennsylvania in the fall of 2009. She recently graduated from Friends' Central
School in the Philadelphia area and was an assistant teacher at the Children's
School of Science in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
About "Taking Care of Your 'Girls'"
by Marisa C. Weiss, M.D., and Isabel Friedman
A Three Rivers Press Paperback Original
September 2, 2008 * Pages: 256
Price: $15.95 * ISBN: 978-0-307-40696-5
www.TakingCareofYourGirls.com

About Breastcancer.org
Breastcancer.org is the #1 source of medical information and support,
dedicated to providing more than 5,000 pages of medically vetted information
on breast health and breast cancer. A non-profit organization,
Breastcancer.org serves more than 8 million visitors each year.
About the Comcast Pink Ribbon campaign
For the second year in a row, Breastcancer.org is partnering with Comcast
on the Pink Ribbon campaign, to create a dedicated VOD (video-on-demand) and
online initiative which brings together educational and inspirational content
for all women, girls, and their loved ones to watch in the comfort of their
own home.
CONTACT: Davia Temin or Suzanne Oaks of Temin and Company, 212-588-8788,
or news@teminandco.com, for Breastcancer.org

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link.
Marisa Weiss, M.D.
http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=77168

SOURCE Breastcancer.org

Davia Temin or Suzanne Oaks, both for Breastcancer.org, +1-212-588-8788,
news@teminandco.com