National Alliance for Hispanic Health Endorses the President's Cancer Panel Report 'Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk'

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National Alliance for Hispanic Health

May 12, 2010, 04:56 ET

WASHINGTON, May 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "It has been nearly 50 years since the Surgeon General wrote to the American people about the relationship between tobacco and cancer. The President's Cancer Panel has now informed us that the toxins in the environment are compromising our health. We cannot wait 50 years again to fully respond to identified environmental risks to health," said Dr. Jane L. Delgado, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance), the nation's leading Hispanic health advocacy group and author of The Latina Guide to Health.

In its most recent report, "Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk," the President's Cancer Panel stated that: A growing body of research documents myriad established and suspected environmental factors linked to genetic, immune, and endocrine dysfunction that can lead to cancer and other diseases…the true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated".

According to Dr. Delgado, "This report provides the nation with documentation of the link between our health and toxins in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. It is a link that the Alliance has long advocated deserves greater attention as new discoveries in molecular science, genetics, and other fields continue to show the complex balancing act in the human body.

In a letter sent to the White House yesterday, the Alliance offered President Obama a four-point program to reduce toxins while endorsing his Cancer Panel's report calling it, "a clarion call to the nation to embark on an effort to remove the toxins from our food, water, and air that cause cancer." Immediate actions proposed are:

Fully fund the Congressionally-mandated Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center.
Charge the FDA with implementing a national effort to inform consumers about choices they can make to ensure food safety and disposal of pharmaceuticals for water safety.
Establish an interdepartmental "safe homes, safe work, safe communities" effort.
Charge the Department of Defense with implementing a plan to reduce environmental toxins.

Dr. Delgado, emphasized, "The President's Panel has provided a clear and detailed plan for swift action to help achieve a healthy environment. It is our duty to take action now not only in policy and research, but in the choices we make in our daily lives for our health as well as the health and well-being of future generations."

About the National Alliance for Hispanic Health: The Alliance is the nation's foremost science-based source of information and trusted advocate for the health of Hispanics in the United States. The Alliance represents thousands of Hispanic health providers across the nation providing services to more than 15 million each year, making a daily difference in the lives of Hispanic communities and families. For more information, visit http://www.hispanichealth.org or call the Alliance's Su Familia National Hispanic Family Health Helpline at 1-866-783-2645.

SOURCE National Alliance for Hispanic Health