Karen Handel resigned as the Susan G. Komen Foundation's vice president for public policy on Tuesday in the wake of the charity's disastrous defunding of Planned Parenthood and since she isn't taking a severance package, she's free to talk to the media. Today, she told the Daily Beast, "The idea that anyone would suggest Komen had a political agenda is absurd." more ›

In an article that confirms all of the suspicions about why the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to defund breast cancer prevention programs at Planned Parenthood, the Huffington Post reports that a Komen source says vice president for public policy Karen Handel was the "main force behind the decision to defund Planned Parenthood and the attempt to make that decision look nonpolitical." The source said, "Karen Handel was the prime instigator of this effort, and she herself personally came up with investigation criteria. She said, 'If we just say it's about investigations, we can defund Planned Parenthood and no one can blame us for being political.'" more ›

In the wake of the Susan G. Komen Foundation's change-of-heart regarding funding Planned Parenthood's breast cancer-prevention measures, the Komen foundation finds itself reeling from a public relations disaster that may have left it irrevocably harmed. A Komen affiliate in Colorado told the Washington Post, "I felt like we were eaten alive. We had no advance warning.. . . We were sent into battle without armor." more ›

In an about-face no doubt fueled by the massive public relations mess, leading breast cancer charity The Susan G. Komen Foundation announced it would continue to funding programs at Planned Parenthood. In a statement today, founder Nancy Brinker said, "We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities." more ›

While the Susan G. Komen Foundation remains on the defensive about defunding breast cancer prevention-related grants to Planned Parenthood, its marketing juggernaut remains unabated. For instance, what says ending breast cancer forever like a .22-caliber pink handgun? more ›

After the Susan G. Komen Foundation pulled its breast cancer prevention-related funding from Planned Parenthood, numerous people have been stepping up to donate to Planned Parenthood. And Mayor Bloomberg wants to donate $250,000—and have others donate another $250,000. more ›

After yesterday's AP report on how leading breast cancer charity, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, was stopping its grants to Planned Parenthood—grants that go towards breast exams and information—Planned Parenthood asked its supporters to donate. And they have: The Washington Post reports that $400,000 has been donated to the organization in the past 24 hours. more ›

The top breast cancer charity has pulled its funding from Planned Parenthood, which provided nearly 170,000 breast exams during the five years of Komen's support. more ›

Evelyn Lauder, who helped create the pink ribbon symbol for breast cancer awareness, died yesterday. The daughter-in-law of cosmetics magnate Estee Lauder, Lauder died from complications of nongenetic ovarian cancer in her Manhattan home. She was 75. more ›

For a while there, it looked like drinkers had Science on their side: there were reports saying that wine blocks sunburns and older women should drink every day. But now, Science has seemingly turned its back on alcohol and the ladies who love it: a new study shows that women who consume as little as three drinks a week have an elevated risk of breast cancer. more ›

By now you may have heard the galling story of Lori Dorn, the breast cancer survivor who was subjected to a humiliating pat-down at JFK airport last month. Dorn wrote about the experience on her blog, igniting a media firestorm that has resulted in something as elusive as a cure for cancer: A TSA apology (albeit a qualified one). It all started when Dorn—who recently underwent a bilateral mastectomy and had tissue expanders implanted for future breast reconstruction—was going through screening to get to her Virgin Airways flight to San Francisco. But the tissue expanders set off the imaging scanner, and so the TSA demanded a pat-down. On her blog, she wrote: more ›

In March, Patrice Lataillade, Marc Jacobs International CFO and COO, filed suit against his former employer and its president, Robert Duffy, for creating a "discriminatory environment" that involved "displaying [of] gay pornography in the office and requiring employees to look at it," and Duffy's "requirement that an MJI store employee perform a pole dance for him." You know, typical work stuff. Lataillade asserted that complaining about these practices got him fired. At the time, MJI said that he was actually fired for "serious matters unrelated to the allegations made in the complaint." Now, in MJI's answer to Lataillade's complaint, we find out what those "serious matters" are: "manipulation of MJI's financial performance" to the tune of $20 million. more ›

In order to raise teenagers' awareness of breast cancer, the Keep-A-Breast foundation began selling "I [heart] Boobies!" rubber bracelets for $3.99 on their website, and for some reason they're really popular with the youths! Perhaps the teens are just really concerned about breast cancer, which is why it's so troubling that numerous schools are banning the bands. Nine schools in the West Islip school district banned the bracelets in September, but now it's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the kids can't show their support. District spokeswoman Nancy Lenz told Newsday (paywall), "We just don't like the wording. We think it's inappropriate for children." Would "I [heart] Breasts" be any better? more ›

A Manhattan judge ruled Monday that two genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer are "the law of nature," thereby nullifying seven patents by Myriad Genetics of Utah. Prior to the decision, women wishing to be tested for the indicators would have had to consult with the patent holder—at a cost of $3,000—but now the monopoly no longer applies. more ›

Yesterday, the United States Preventive Services Task Force ("an influential group that provides guidance to doctors, insurance companies and policy makers") recommended that women get mammograms starting at age 50, reversing its previous position that mammograms should start at age 40. According to the Times, the panel believes that mammograms "can trigger unnecessary further tests, like biopsies, that can create extreme anxiety." But one woman told the AP, "I've never had a scare, but isn't it better to be safe than sorry?... I've heard of a lot of women in their 40s, and even 30s, who've gotten breast cancer. It just doesn't seem right to wait until 50." The American Cancer Society stands by its recommendation that mammograms start at 40. more ›

Just a heads up that tomorrow the new Manhattan location of gelato and crepe chain Melt will be trying to set the world record for the most cups of gelato served in a single day. If you'd like to help the company achieve its goal, head over to Melt at 1053 2nd Avenue, between 55th and 56th Streets, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow. The lines for these kinds of giveaways can sometimes make one question whether its worth the time investment, but since Melt is going for the world record, maybe they'll be cranking out the gelato fast enough to keep things moving briskly? more ›