Susan Teitelbaum, assistant professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, recently completed a study looking at the effects of household pesticides on breast-cancer risk among women on Long Island.

Her research concluded that many pesticides contained DDT (or at least other carcinogens) that increased the risk of woman contracting breast cancer.

Studies had been performed before in occupational settings but it was until this research project that household gardeners were under the microscope for their use of these chemical sprays.

In an article by Christine Dellamore it was reported that there was a direct association between women using pesticides in the home and garden and an increased risk in breast cancer.
<blockquote>The study, published online Dec. 13 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found an association between lifetime residential pesticide use and breast-cancer risk in a sample of 1,508 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1996 and 1997, as compared to 1,556 random controls.</blockquote>
And the biggest culprits were;
<blockquote>
In the analysis of the blood samples for organochlorine, it was interesting to find women who reported using pesticides especially for lawn and garden problems did show an increased risk for breast cancer.</blockquote>
It makes searching out organic remedies for pest control a little more tempting, doesn't it?