Advocate Profiles

Silent Spring Institute is grateful to the women and men who ask for - and tirelessly pursue - answers to the difficult questions we must resolve in order to stop the breast cancer epidemic. Their dedication and energy are a source of continuing inspiration. Through these profiles we hope to honor them and highlight their contributions.

Deb Forter
Executive Director, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition

Joyce Clements
President and Environmental Chair, Maine Breast Cancer Coalition

Nancy Crumpacker
Secretary-Treasurer of the Board, Rachel’s Friends Breast Cancer Coalition

Joan Sheehan
Co-President, Capital Region Action Against Breast Cancer! (CRAAB!)

Bonnie Spanier
Co-President, Capital Region Action Against Breast Cancer! (CRAAB!)

Additional profiles will be posted regularly

Dr. Nancy Crumpacker Secretary-Treasurer of the Board, Rachel’s Friends Breast Cancer Coalition Oncologist (retired)
Home: Portland, Oregon
Professional interests: Preventing cancer
Hobbies: Hiking
Recent book: Breast Cancer: Society Shapes an Epidemic by Anne Kasper and Susan Ferguson (as of 12/2005)

When Oregon decided to create its first comprehensive cancer plan in 2004, Nancy Crumpacker and the other leaders at Rachel’s Friends Breast Cancer Coalition saw an opportunity to influence policy and reach a wider audience with their environmental message.

Diane Lund-Muzikant, chair of the Rachel’s Friends Board, successfully lobbied for the creation of the Environmental Risk Factors (ERF) workgroup and served as the workgroup’s chair for the first year. Subsequently, she became the co-chair of the Prevention and Early Detection section of the cancer plan and Dr. Crumpacker now chairs the ERF, a workgroup of the Prevention and Early Detection section.

With this boost in visibility and legitimacy for Rachel’s Friends, the organization successfully incorporated into the state’s plan a list of common cancers along with a list of the chemicals associated with them. Noted Dr. Crumpacker, “by being part of this planning and putting together this cancer program, we’ve notched up the citizen’s awareness that there are toxins that impact cancer incidence.”

Dr. Crumpacker foresees that the organization’s involvement in drafting the cancer plan will facilitate its work with other organizations, its ability to develop and disseminate education tools, and to change public policy.

During her 21 years in medicine, Dr. Crumpacker saw the incidence of many cancers increase and wondered, “What’s going on here?” With only 5 to 15% of all cancers attributed to genetic causes, she reasoned, the increase can’t be genetically based. “We are doing something different now. The environment just makes a lot of sense.” When she retired in 1999, she joined Rachel’s Friends Board of Directors.

Dr. Crumpacker highlights a need for changes in public policy, at corporate levels, and by individuals. “I’d like to see our public policy changing. Change our corporations. Change our entire mentality. Greed is a very tough human trait to counter. That’s what it all comes down to. If they can make more money they’ll do it the cheapest way possible which is usually the most toxic.”

Rachel’s Friends Breast Cancer Coalition is a non-profit organization founded in 1998. Its goal is to reduce our exposure to toxics in the environment to reduce the risk of breast cancer. The Oregon Partnership for Cancer Control first statewide Cancer Plan is available at http://egov.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/cancer/plan05-10.shtml.