New this week: The words "dainty"
and "daintiness" in three ads: Nupak
(U.S.A., 1926 and 1927)
and Kotex (U.S.A., 1932) - Hickory
menstrual pad belts (U.S.A., 1925)
Estrogen now on the list of cancer-causing agents
Seems like a slap in the face, doesn't it, even
though most of us knew it could have some relationship to cancer?
Read part of what the Associated Press wrote on
16 December, as printed in the Washington Post (I added the red for emphasis):
While stressing the value of estrogen treatments
for women, a government scientific advisory panel recommended yesterday
that the chemical be added to the nation's list of cancer-causing agents.
. . . An estimated 16 million post-menopausal women take hormone therapy
- estrogen or estrogen combined with progestin. The
therapy can reduce symptoms of menopause and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
Some studies have suggested it reduces the risk of heart disease. Millions
of other women use birth control pills. The amount of estrogen in those
pills has dropped dramatically in recent years. The advisory panel acted
after looking at studies showing that estrogen is associated with an increase
in endometrial cancer and, to a lesser extent, breast cancer. Doctors already
know about the cancer link. That's the reason post-menopausal estrogen
is given together with progestin: the combination lowers the risk of endometrial
cancer. But panel member Sheila H. Zahm of
the National Cancer Institute noted that NCI researchers - in a paper published
in January - had found a slight increase in
breast cancer in women treated with the hormone combination. . . .
This may influence what you think about the book
Is Menstruation Obsolete? which has many interesting ideas about stopping menstruation
by continually taking birth control pills that contain estrogen (Depo-Provera,
for example, does not
contain estrogen).
Letters to your MUM
Toilet paper as tampon, part 2 (read part 1, from last week, right
below this letter)
Dear Harry,
Yes, I agree with you that plain, white toilet
paper is probably the safest stuff, as long as it has no chemicals or perfumes,
I see no reason not to use it.
I guess I see all that fancy packaging and little
strings and wrappings as surplussage to a basic function.
How to remove it? No problem. Reach up and grab.
Even if it breaks off, which is rare, reaching
into the back of one's vagina is not unlike picking out food from between
teeth in the back of the mouth. It isn't difficult,
especially if you bear down.
Let me know if you have further questions and
take care. Good luck with your museum project.
This was her first letter, last week:
Dear Harry,
I loved your Web site. It is the best! [Many
thanks!]
I do have question, however. What about women
who use toilet paper as tampons? I have been doing this for years, in order
to save the cost of commercial tampons and trips to the store. There must
be many others than I out there. Stuff works great and must have been used
since toilet paper was invented, whenever that was. I
guess we're the underground of tampon users.
All you have to do is fold up about 18" in length (depending on thickness)
into a 3" length and then twist and insert. Real easy. Works everywhere.
Ever received an e-mail on this one? [Never!
But I know women who use them in emergencies.]
I think it deserves a page.
Take care and good luck and have a great day.
[I knew of women who did this in emergencies,
but not consistently, as you do. These might
be problems:
Leaving pieces of paper in the vagina
Difficulty in inserting the paper and taking
it out
Dyes, perfumes and other chemicals, like dioxin,
in the paper]
Cycling with the moon
Hello,
I came across your Web site when I was looking
for information on the practice of cycling menstruation with the cycles
of the moon. I have been very unsuccessful in my search and was hoping
that you could help me locate info on the history of it and how to accomplish
this. Very interested. If you have any information that might be helpful
please e-mail me.
[I have heard of this this but know little about
it. A recent study has shown that a tiny amount of light - the amount of
a night light, say - can diminish melatonin production in the body, which
in turn influences estrogen production, which of course helps regulate
the menstrual cycle. I believe an older one has shown that a full moon
can do the same thing. But I don't know the mechanics of regulating menstruation
by the moon.]
You Web site is very interesting and I have spent
some time on it learning and reading things that I had not every heard
about before. It is amazing to me how many
women do not like to talk about there period and the things involved with
it, including me sometimes. Although I don't
have a problem talking about it myself I find myself hesatant to talk to
others based on the response I get upon opening up the conversation. Now
that I have found your Web site I am happy to know that there is a place
with information that I have access to with out having to worry about "that
look" I get when I bring up the topic to the women around me.
Thank you for your time and help,
Pap art exhibit starts 21 September in
Delray Beach, Florida
I am writing to request your participation and assistance in an exciting
and important project regarding women's health issues.
The world-renowned scientist and lover of the arts Dr.
George Papanicolaou, better known as Dr. Pap, inventor of the Pap smear
test, will be the subject of a special exhibition at the Cornell Museum
of Art in Delray Beach, Florida, beginning September 21, 2000. The
gala opening and artist's reception will be held on Thursday evening September
28, 2000. The foremost patient advocate and director of the Center For
Cervical Health in the United States, Carol Ann Armenti, will be the keynote
speaker.
The exhibition will run through November 12, 2000, and will feature
recent works by international artist Olga Stamatiou,
Dr. Papanicolaou's niece. Stamatiou's works will be available for
acquisition and the profits will go toward:
1. The creation of "PAP MOBILES," vehicles that would be
used to provide testing for under-served women in areas, with the highest
incidence of cervical cancer.
2. The creation of a traveling multimedia art exhibition.
3. The production of a documentary film based on the life, work and
scientific legacy of Dr. Papanicolaou and his wife Mary.
4. The Center for Cervical Health.
5. The Papanicolaou Woman's Corp.
Our organization "PAP" - Prevention and Protection - will
have as its goal to raise awareness about women's health issues, including
the importance of having regular Pap smears and the provision of information
on new and existing methods for detecting cervical cancer.
The traveling exhibition, to be viewed in public spaces and museums,
will be a multimedia environment drawing on and inspired by Dr. Pap's love
of the arts and sciences. This environment will include permanent built-in
units that will provide creative spaces for national and local women's
health organizations to inform women on what is available involving health
care.
The September 28th opening reception will also include international
guest artists and feature a wide range of styles and media. A percentage
of their work will benefit the above-mentioned projects.
Olympus Corporation of America will provide working microscopes and
monitors along with technicians on opening night to demonstrate how Pap
smears are read.
Washable-pad company for sale
Gayle Adams, owner of Feminine Options, wants
to sell the company to someone willing to put time and energy into it.
The Food and Drug Administration has already approved its products.
Call Gayle at (715) 455-1652 (Wisconsin, U.S.A.).
Money and this site
I, Harry Finley, creator of the museum and site and the "I"
of the narrative here, receive no money for any products or services on
this site. Sometimes people donate items to the museum.
All expenses for the site come out of my pocket, where my salary from
my job as a graphic designer is deposited.
You have privacy
here
What happens when you visit this site?
Nothing.
I get no information about you from any
source when you visit, and I have no idea who you
are, before, during or after your visit.
This is private - period.
Is this the new
millennium or even century?
You can get the correct information
if you go to these pages published by the U S Naval Observatory:
"whenIs")
A comprehensive site from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich will put right any doubts:
Help Wanted: This Museum Needs a
Public Official For Its Board of Directors
Your MUM is doing the paper work necessary to become eligible to receive
support from foundations as a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. To achieve
this status, it helps to have a American public official - an elected or
appointed official of the government, federal, state or local - on its board of directors.
What public official out there
will support a museum for the worldwide culture of
women's health and menstruation?
Eventually I would also like to entice people experienced in the law,
finances and fund raising to the board.
Do You Have Irregular Menses?
If so, you may have polycystic ovary syndrome
[and here's a support association for it].
Jane Newman, Clinical Research Coordinator at Brigham
and Women's Hospital, Harvard University School of Medicine, asked
me to tell you that
Irregular menses identify women at high risk for polycystic ovary syndrome
(PCOS), which exists in 6-10% of women of
reproductive age. PCOS is a major cause of infertility
and is linked to diabetes.
Learn more about current
research on PCOS at Brigham and Women's
Hospital, the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State University
- or contact Jane Newman.
If you have fewer than six
periods a year, you may be eligible to participate
in the study!
New this week: The words "dainty"
and "daintiness" in three ads: Nupak (U.S.A., 1926
and 1927) and Kotex
(U.S.A., 1932) - Hickory menstrual pad belts
(U.S.A., 1925)
© 2000 Harry Finley. It is illegal
to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in any manner or medium
without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations
to hfinley@mum.org