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Breast Cancer Activism in the United States and the Politics of Genes
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Breast Cancer Activism in the United States and the Politics of Genes

Kristen Abatsis McHenry
IJFAB: International journal of feminist approaches to bioethics, Vol.8(1), pp.182-200
01/01/2015

Abstract

Biomedical Social Sciences Social Sciences - Other Topics Social Sciences, Biomedical Ethics Social Sciences Women's Studies
Perhaps no other medical advocacy movement has been as successful as breast cancer advocacy in increasing awareness and funds. Recent decades have seen a division between a "green" environmental advocacy aimed at prevention and a "pink" advocacy focused on fund-raising for a cure. The movement has largely failed to address the implications of corporate control over genetic testing, as reflected by the involvement of only one breast cancer organization in the lawsuit against Myriad Genetics Laboratory, which held patents on the BRCA 1/2 genes. This article argues that the reason for this failure is an unwillingness to challenge the role that corporations play in advocacy.

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