Dr. Brannan, MD speaks about the health benefits (including cancer prevention) of women’s topless rights
Dr. John Brannan, MD is a radiologist in Mobile, AL where he does mammography. He has this to say about the health benefits of enforcing women's rights to go topless in public:
"The biggest task in breast cancer detection is early diagnosis, and I am convinced that one of the greatest contributors in the late diagnosis and fatal outcomes of breast cancer is the feeling that women have that they are supposed to hide the breast and that the breast is somehow a forbidden territory that should be concealed.
This attitude imposed on women has, in my opinion, held many women back from getting proper evaluations and kept many cancers from being detected even when the physical signs would be obvious.
This attitude must change, and I think your civil rights battle for women’s topless rights is needed in our fight against this horrible disease.
Males generally do not get breast cancer and when it occurs it is obvious to everyone and detected early and easily successfully treated.
Everyone has breasts. They are not sexual organs.
Except for a few weeks in a woman's life when she nurses a child, they serve the same function as the male. Many male breasts are larger than female breasts.
The day that women are freed of the burden of unnecessarily and dangerously hiding the breast will represent a great step forward in our fight against a deadly disease, and I applaud your efforts.
As far as sun exposure is concerned, the breast is, again, no different than any other part of the body, and should be protected with sunscreen. The nipple is the same tissue as the lips and should be handled the same way, with sunscreen, chapstick, lip balm, etc. depending on the type of exposure (sun, wind, etc.).
Your breast is as ready for sun exposure as your face!"
Dr. John Brannan, MDPlease sign the petition on White House website for equal topless rights -deadline Sept 13