Ninety percent of cancers are caused by environmental factors

“It is important to be aware of carcinogens and reduce our exposure to them, We need to be aware of what we are putting on our skin, in our stomachs, and in our homes.”

“I got famous, then I got cancer, and now I live to talk about it,” says Fran Dresher, actress, model, writer, and President of the Cancer Schmancer Movement. “Sometimes the best gifts come in the ugliest packages.”

Dresher, a New York native best known for her role as “Nanny” Fran Fine on the hit 90’s sitcom The Nanny, (which still airs in syndication) is a uterine cancer survivor. “It took me two years and eight doctors before finally being told I had a gynecologic cancer,” she says, admitting she felt “betrayed” by her body and the medical community.

In 2002, Drescher wrote the book Cancer Schmancer, to share her story of survival. “The book was not the end, but rather the beginning, of a life mission to improve women's healthcare in America,” she has said. And, with that, Drescher launched the Cancer Schmancer Movement and Cancer Schmancer Foundation to transform women from patients into medical consumers, and “to shift this nation's priority from searching for a cancer cure towards prevention and early detection of cancer.”

In another exclusive interview with A Distinctive Style, Dresher updates readers on her global health mission.

“This summer, Cancer Schmancer turned four and I celebrated my 11th year of wellness from uterine cancer. I feel very blessed to continue with our message of prevention and early detection,” she begins with. “To really focus on our preventative efforts, we have just launched our new program called Trash Cancer.”

According to Drescher, Trash Cancer is about educating others about the harmful chemicals found in common household and personal care products, “and how to be smart consumers in order to live healthy lives.”

“Ninety percent of cancers are caused by environmental factors, so it is important to be aware of carcinogens and reduce our exposure to them,” she says. “We need to be aware of what we are putting on our skin, in our stomachs, and in our homes.”

Dresher says that “there is formaldehyde in some baby shampoos and lead in some lipsticks. We live in a toxic world and it is our responsibility to protect ourselves from these poisons.”

Right now there is an important bill in Congress called the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011. If passed, the bill would “require gaps in the current federal law to be closed. These ‘gaps’ allow dangerous chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products,” explains Drescher. “This is an issue that affects men and women, Democrats and Republicans, old and young. We need to be an active voice in this initiative and tell our elected officials to support this bill because our health matters.”