News and Issues

In a press release this week, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada says “the Prince Edward Island government’s policy to not provide abortion services on the Island... violates women’s constitutional rights, discriminates against women, and endangers their health and lives. It also contravenes the Canada Health Act.”

Read their press release.

In her excellent piece in Straightgoods this week, Penney Kome looks back 30 years to the women's rebellion that convinced Premiers across Canada to reaffirm the principle of sex and gender equality in the 1981 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She describes how, from November 16 to November 24, 1981, women's groups across Canada – including the most conservative - joined in a concerted province-by-province campaign to fight for women’s rights.

Read The lobby that changed the Charter.

Women aged 40–74 years with average risk for breast cancer do not need mammograms as often as thought, according to new screening guidelines announced November 21, 2011 by The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.

The new guidelines include these recommendations for Canada:
- women under age 50 who are at an average risk of developing breast cancer should not have routine mammograms
- clinical breast exams and self-exams have no benefit and shouldn’t be used
- women aged 50 to 69 who are at an average risk should have mammograms every two to three years, instead of every year or two
- women aged 70 to 74 who are at an average risk should have mammograms every two to three years (previous guidelines didn’t recommend screening for that age group)

The recommendations don’t apply to women with an elevated risk of breast cancer, such as those with a history of the disease in a first-degree relative or those with mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

These guidelines are similar to US guidelines announced two years ago.

Read the new guidelines on the Canadian Medical Association Journal website, Recommendations on screening for breast cancer in average-risk women aged 40–74 years

Why are women driving a growth in alcohol consumption around the world? The 2011 Atkinson series in the Toronto Star this month explores this question, from many angles. This excellent series is written by Ann Dowsett Johnston, who spent a year writing and researching the issue of Women and Drinking as part of the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.

Here are the stories published so far:

From ‘Sex in the City' mothering to abstinence — how one one woman inspired others to stop

Women are the new face of alcohol advertising

The age of vulnerability: ‘Most girls drink to fit in’

Alcoholics (not) Anonymous?

When the drink comes calling

‘You want to know about my drinking? I lost my friends, my children, my mind’

Health Canada has issued a release about the use of Avastin (adjuvant therapy used for treatment of colon cancer) and its link to higher rates of ovarian failure in pre-menopausal women. According to this release, “Chemotherapy alone is a known risk factor for ovarian failure in women treated for cancer. This risk is higher when AVASTIN is added to the treatment.”

See the release on Health Canada’s site.

The FDA in the US withdrew for breast cancer treatment last year. According to this article, “Avastin is currently approved to treat certain types of lung, brain, kidney, colon and breast cancers, but late last year, an FDA advisory committee recommended that Avastin's approval for breast cancer be rescinded.” Read about it here: FDA Adds Risk of 'Ovarian Failure' to Avastin's Warning Label (TIME Healthland)

Avastin is still used in Canada for breast cancer treatment, but for only a "handful" of breast cancer patients, according to the following article, Avastin rejected for breast cancer in U.S. (CBC)

The New View Campaign to challenge the medicalization of sex has two November, 2011 events that you can participate in. They are calling the events VULVANOMICS.

Since 2008, the New View Campaign has challenged the growth of a dangerous new industry, female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS), wherein amputations of parts of the vulva (“labiaplasty” “clitoral hood reduction”) are marketed as “enhancement” and “beautification” procedures. On their websites, many FGCS surgeons post before and after photographs that misinform the public about genital diversity, suggesting  that all vulvas should look alike and that there is something wrong with full labia. Check some of them out for yourself here and here. There are dozens of such surgeons' websites.

Find out how you can become involved in Vulvanomics this month.

Last month the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF) held the first international conference on female genital mutilation (FGM), which discussed research, healthcare services, and preventive measures. The UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme works in 15 African nations to prevent FGM and is establishing partnerships with African Universities to spread awareness of the dangers of FMG. Nafissatou Diop, coordinator of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme, stated, "This initiative will improve the lives, health and dignity of women and girls in Africa."

Read about it on the UNFPA website.

Many young women today tuck their cellphones in the bra to have simple and quick access. However, most of us have no idea that cellphones are two-way microwave radios that should not be kept directly on the body.

Read more about the risk of cancer from close proximity to these kinds of devices in this article. 

Breast Cancer Action Montreal has just launched a campaign to promote better labelling regulations in cosmetics. They are asking people to sign a petition to ask the federal government to ensure that products containing known and suspected carcinogens are labeled using clearly recognizable symbols.

While CWHN - along with many other organzations - is supporting this campaign, we also recognize that there are problems associated with promoting labelling, the main one being that it places the onus on the individual to decipher complicated chemical names on cosmetics and other personal care products, and doesn't change the fact that those chemicals are still being used.

Read more about these concerns about promoting labelling, as outlined in a letter to BCAM from the National Network on Environments and Women’s Health. This letter has been posted on BCAM's blog: From BCAM President: "Petition Gets Me Thinking".

Léonie Couture, a longtime advocate for women’s rights in Quebec who founded the women’s shelter La rue des femmes, has been awarded the Thérèse Daviau Award. This award is given every two years to a Montrealer who has helped improve the quality of life in the city through their work.

Read the story about  Léonie Couture  in The Gazette: Women’s rights crusader Léonie Couture wins Thérèse Daviau Award.

The CWHN published a story in Network magazine in 2007 on Léonie Couture and her work.  Read HerStreet.