Kristi Funk (née Pado, born September 22, 1969) is an American

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

surgeon known for her surgical treatment of celebrities

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

and Sheryl Crow and her advocacy of whole-food plant-based nutrition.Gorski, David. (2018)
"Angelina Jolie’s surgeon peddles misinformation about…breast cancer!"
Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

Biography

In 1991, Funk graduated with distinction in psychology from Stanford University."Dr. Kristi Funk"
Pinklotus.com. Retrieved 30 November 2021. She obtained her medical degree from the

UC Davis School of Medicine The University of California Davis School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of California, Davis. Although the parent institution is near Davis, California, the medical school is in Sacramento, California. History Founded in 196 ...

in 1996. She was director and surgeon of the breast center at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

for 7 years. She opened the Pink Lotus Breast Center in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

in 2009. In August 2010, Sheryl Crow partnered with Kristi to open the Sheryl Crow Imaging Center at Funk's Pink Lotus Breast Center. On May 14, 2013, the same day Jolie publicly disclosed in a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

op-ed her

BRCA mutation A ''BRCA'' mutation is a mutation in either of the ''BRCA1'' and ''BRCA2'' genes, which are tumour suppressor genes. Hundreds of different types of mutations in these genes have been identified, some of which have been determined to be harmful, ...

status and the prophylactic mastectomy she underwent earlier that year, Funk released a blog post about Jolie's procedure in which she outlined the stages of surveillance and treatment that were followed in her case.

Breast cancer claims

Funk promotes a whole-food plant-based vegan diet and has stated that dairy products increase the risk of breast cancer. She has argued that buying

organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...

s, eating berries and cruciferous vegetables and switching to bar soap could reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.Eddie, Rachel. (2017)
"‘It’s basically garbage’: Angelina Jolie’s surgeon peddles ‘dubious’ breast cancer claims"
thenewdaily.com.au. Retrieved 30 November 2021. Sanchia Aranda, CEO of Cancer Council Australia has described Funk's claims about breast cancer as "dangerous". She stated that there is a link between being overweight and developing breast cancer but Funk's claim that eating berries substantially reduces the risk of breast cancer is not supported by solid evidence. Aranda also criticized Funk's advice to use bar soap as "very bizarre".

David Gorski David Henry Gorski is an American Surgical oncology, surgical oncologist, professor of surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, specializing in Breast cancer#Sur ...

of ''

Science-Based Medicine ''Science-Based Medicine'' is a website and blog with articles covering issues in science and medicine, especially medical scams and practices. Founded in 2008, it is owned and operated by the New England Skeptical Society and run by Steven N ...

'' has claimed that Funk spreads misinformation about breast cancer and has misrepresented results from scientific papers. For example, Gorski claims that she has stated that by exercising, avoiding alcohol and smoking and adopting a whole-food plant-based diet one may reduce breast cancer risk by 80%. According to Gorski this figure has been overexaggerated by Funk. Gorski also claimed that Funk has overexaggerated the effects of dairy and meat as risk factors for breast cancer, which according to Gorski are based on studies that are negative or only suggestive, and that Funk has also promoted pseudoscientific views about detoxing.

Selected publications

*''Breasts: The Owner's Manual: Every Woman’s Guide to Reducing Cancer Risk, Making Treatment Choices, and Optimizing Outcomes'' (2019, with a foreword by Sheryl Crow)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, Kristi 1969 births Alternative detoxification promoters American health and wellness writers American surgeons American veganism activists Cancer researchers Living people Physicians of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Plant-based diet advocates Pseudoscientific diet advocates Stanford University alumni University of California, Davis alumni Women surgeons