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[audio https://www.peterbcollins.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Byrne.mp3]In a new crowdfunded investigation, investigative journalist Peter Byrne challenges claims that Marin County, California has the highest rate of breast cancer cases in the world. In this conversation, he persuasively presents his case.Byrne is an experienced investigator who brought us the reports on conflicts of interest between Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and her wealthy husband, Richard Blum, which you can read here.
His new investigation is Busted: Breast Cancer, Money and the Media. Get more information and contribute here.
Byrne explains that the 30-year claim that women in Marin have the highest rate of breast cancer is based on small datasets that can lead to erroneous interpretation. He details the higher rates of mammography and other factors that skew the data, including projection of actual cases per 100,000 women–a statistical method that can inflate the numbers.
Byrne cites money as the unifying factor. Print outlets that declined to run his report get major revenue from pharmaceutical advertising; drug companies get new patients to use their drugs that produce obscene profits; activist groups maintain relevance and donation streams. Byrne doesn’t demonize any one person or group, declaring that the system has produced this aberration.