Medical Organizations

The “crimes of unbridled capitalism” have allies in such organizations as the American Medical Association, and the American Cancer Society. The latter, for example, is rightly considered to be the world’s wealthiest “non-profit” institution.

In an article <http://www.preventcancer.com/POCR/chpt16.htm> a Dr. Epstein writes that the American Cancer Society (ACS) is accumulating great wealth in its role as a “charity”. He notes, for example, that “According to James Bennett, professor of economics at George Mason University and recognized authority on charitable organizations, the ACS held a fund balance of over $400 million with about $69 million of holdings in land, buildings, and equipment in 1988. Of that money, the ACS spent only $90 million -- 26 percent of its budget -- on medical research and programs. The rest covered ‘operating expenses’ including about 60 percent for generous salaries, pensions, executive benefits, and overhead. By 1989, the cash reserves of the ACS were worth more than $700 million. In 1991, Americans, believing they were contributing to fighting cancer, gave nearly $350 million to the ACS, 6 percent more than the previous year. Most of this money comes from public donations averaging $3,500, and high-profile fund raising campaigns such as the springtime daffodil sale and the May relay races. However, over the last two decades, an increasing proportion of the ACS budget comes from large corporations, including the pharmaceutical, cancer drug, telecommunications, and entertainment industries.” [emphasis added]

“Marching in lockstep with the NCI [National Cancer Institute] in its ‘war’ on cancer is its ‘ministry of information,’ the ACS. With powerful media control and public relations resources, the ACS is the tail that wags the dog of the policies and priorities of the NCI. In addition, the approach of the ACS to cancer prevention reflects a virtually exclusive ‘blame-the-victim’ philosophy. It emphasizes faulty lifestyles rather than unknowing and unavoidable exposure to workplace or environmental carcinogens. Giant corporations, which profit handsomely while they pollute the air, water, and food with a wide range of carcinogens, are greatly comforted by the silence of the ACS. This silence reflects a complex of mindsets fixated on diagnosis, treatment, and basic genetic research together with ignorance, indifference, and even hostility to prevention, coupled with conflicts of interest.” In other words, just more Corporate Rule.

“Indeed, despite promises to the public to do everything to ‘wipe out cancer in your lifetime,’ the ACS fails to make its voice heard in Congress and the regulatory arena. Instead, the ACS repeatedly rejects or ignores opportunities and requests from congressional committees, regulatory agencies, unions, and environmental organizations to provide scientific testimony critical to efforts to legislate and regulate a wide range of occupational and environmental carcinogens. This history of ACS unresponsiveness is a long and damning one, as shown by the fact that in 1971, when studies unequivocally proved that diethylstilbestrol (DES) caused vaginal cancers in teenaged daughters of women administered the drug during pregnancy, the ACS refused an invitation to testify at congressional hearings to require the FDA to ban its use as an animal feed additive. It gave no reason for its refusal.”

The complete article is at <http://www.preventcancer.com/POCR/chpt16.htm>.

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Medical Organizations

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