Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras

A look at a breakthrough breast cancer theory and the remarkable evidence to support it

Breast cysts and cancer are epidemic at this time in history. The healthcare industry says that the cause of 70 percent of all breast cancer is unknown. Dressed to Kill helps solve this mystery, explaining how one of the greatest threats to breast health is something that women do to themselves every day. This book has its roots in a personal crisis in the authors’ lives, when Soma Grismaijer was shocked to find a lump in her breast while pregnant. Looking for clues regarding the cause of the lump led this husband-and-wife medical anthropology team to develop a new theory and to conduct an extensive survey of nearly 5,000 US women, half of whom had breast cancer, in an attempt to uncover a hidden cause of this devastating disease.

Pioneers in the new field of applied medical anthropology, Singer and Grismaijer explain their unique approach to researching and understanding the cultural causes of disease in easy-to-read language that is accessible to the layperson and professional alike. Dressed to Kill has already had an impact on the healthcare and fashion worlds, moving some doctors to rethink the prevention and treatment of breast disease and some clothing designers to rethink their products. Controversial for its challenge to established custom and medical dogma, this breakthrough book is a classic. The updated third edition continues to suggest new ways of dealing with an old and all-too-common women’s health issue and includes:

• "If Breasts Could Talk": extensive testimonials and results from the International Bra-Free Study, revealing the health transformations women experience when they go bra-free
• New international research: supporting studies from Kenya, China, Iran, and Brazil that mainstream medical institutions continue to ignore
• Biomechanical research: new evidence on health impacts of tight clothing and lymphatic compression
• Documentation of modern censorship: examples of how AI systems and online encyclopedias suppress research challenging medical orthodoxy

Sydney Ross Singer is a medical anthropologist and co-director of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease. He received a BS in Biology from University of Utah, after which he attended the PhD program in Biochemistry at Duke University. He then transferred to Duke's Anthropology Department, where he received his MA degree. He later attended the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston as an MD/PhD student, with PhD studies in medical humanities. In addition to being a highly sought-after speaker, Syd is also the author of several groundbreaking books on lifestyle-related health problems.

Soma Grismaijer was trained as an environmental planner, with an AA degree in behavioral science and a BA in environmental studies and planning. She and Syd are co-directors of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease. They are also co-directors of the Good Shepherd Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to human, animal, and environmental health. Their other projects include protecting wildlife from the use of poisons and finding a cause and cure for pet eye disease.

Currently, Syd and Soma reside on a rainforest preserve and frog sanctuary on the Big Island of Hawaii.