{"id":756,"date":"2009-06-18T18:52:07","date_gmt":"2009-06-18T22:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=756"},"modified":"2009-06-18T18:52:07","modified_gmt":"2009-06-18T22:52:07","slug":"no-no-it%e2%80%99s-not-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=756","title":{"rendered":"No, No, It\u2019s Not October"},"content":{"rendered":"

As you may remember, last October I profiled Breast Cancer Action\u2019s \u201cThink Before You Pink\u201d campaign<\/a>. I had every intention of doing that again this October, and probably will, but something has come to my attention that can\u2019t wait 4 months, it can\u2019t wait four weeks, four hours, or four minutes.<\/p>\n

Let me attempt to sum up a complex issue. What it comes down is this; corporations can hold the patent rights to genes. I found it a bit concerning when I learned this was being done with regards to food (you know, a corporation holds the patent on a gene to some super corn or what have you) but I became alarmed when I realized that a single corporation holds the patent rights to the human genes linked to cancer. Seriously, I can\u2019t make this shit up.<\/p>\n

What does it mean for a single corporation to hold the rights to the genes? Well, for starters, any science lab, university, or outside corporation has to pay Myriad (the corporation with the patent) for access to the gene for testing and experimentation. That makes it harder and more expensive for research to be done by anyone other than Myriad. Also, because they own the rights to the genes, they also own the rights to certain tests. This means it\u2019s difficult to impossible for a woman to get a second opinion with regards to the test results.<\/p>\n

It means research is limited and access is expensive and difficult to get. I\u2019m not a scientist, but I suspect this all falls under the category of \u201cBad Things\u201d, unless you\u2019re a scientist working for Myriad, in which case, rock on.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the \u201cBad Girls of Breast Cancer\u201d are on the job! Breast Cancer Action <\/a>has joined up with the ACLU <\/a>to file a lawsuit challenging the legality of patenting \u201chuman breast genes\u201d. As far as I\u2019m aware, Breast Cancer Action is the only breast cancer organization that has taken to arms against this dangerous situation. <\/p>\n

If you would like to help, I encourage you to visit Breast Cancer Action\u2019s website <\/a>and make a donation. I know money is tight for most of us, but even $10 shows that you care and support their fight. Another way to help is to visit the ACLU\u2019s website <\/a>and make a donation to help them in all their fights to help Americans hold onto and regain their civil liberties.<\/p>\n

Do me a favor; take 5 minutes to watch the following video. Thanks. (Next post will be something fun and possibly magic related\u2026promise.)<\/p>\n