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

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

surgeon known for her surgical treatment of celebrities

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

and

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

and her advocacy of whole-food

plant-based A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. It encompasses a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, ...

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 Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

."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. While the parent institution is located in Davis, California, the medical school is in Sacramento, California. History Founded in ...

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

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

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

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

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 product Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

s increase the risk of breast cancer. She has argued that buying

organic food Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resou ...

s, eating berries and cruciferous vegetables and switching to

bar soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually used for washing, b ...

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 Cancer Council Australia is a national, nonprofit organisation which aims to promote cancer-control policies and to reduce the illness caused by cancer in Australia. It advises various groups, including the government, on cancer-related issues, ...

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 oncologist and professor of surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He specializes in breast cancer surgery at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. Gorski is an outspoken skeptic and critic ...

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 Steve ...

'' 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 Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

, not 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 veganism activists American 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 American women surgeons