Dressed to Kill

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, and this updated third edition continues to suggest new ways of dealing with an old and all-too-common women’s health issue.