CELL PHONES & CANCER

Many of you who know me well will recall that for years I have been warning about cell phone usage and the risk of cancer (especially if you have kids).  Most of you might recall my warning not to give your kids under the age of 12 years a cell phone as their skull is not fully developed as yet. I am sure that I am known by now as the ‘paranoid friend’. Well the health authorities have now finally decided to confirm this! This is unfortunate and most of you will be sorry to hear this because the cell phone has now become such an essential daily tool which we all feel like we cannot live without!

In 1993, talk-show host Larry King had a guest on his program -- David Reynard, who argued that radiation from a cell phone caused or accelerated the growth of a brain tumour in his wife. Susan Reynard died in 1992, just short of her 34th birthday. The Florida Circuit Court that heard Reynard's case rejected it on the grounds that too little was known about a potential link between cell phones and cancer. What was needed, the court said, was much deeper and more comprehensive knowledge about the subject.

Scientists have long debated whether or not radiation from cell phones can cause adverse health effects but the scientific evidence has now proven this from research conducted. A branch of the World Health organization (WHO), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has now officially labelled cell phone usage as “possibly carcinogenic”, grouping it with the same risk category as lead, the pesticide DDT and gasoline fumes. Their research has concluded that prolonged use of cell phones may increase chances of developing ‘glioma’ (a type of brain cancer). Of course the report is not claiming that cell phones cause cancer, but the scientists are calling for more research to be done to draw further conclusions about the health effects. As far as I am concerned however I do not need to get any further conclusions on top of what have already been concluded. A group of 31 scientists from 14 countries around the world had assembled in June 2011 and reviewed hundreds of scientific articles before making this conclusion so you can decide for yourselves but this is enough of a conclusion for me.

So why do scientists think cell phones might cause brain cancer?

During phone calls and other data transmissions, cell phone antennas emit radio wave, which is a form of electromagnetic radiation, or light, which is invisible to the human eye. It is still unclear the exact impact that large doses of these radio waves have on biological tissues, but there is enough evidence that it has an impact.

There are two types of electromagnetic radiation: Ionizing and Non-Ionizing. Ionizing radiation includes X-Rays, UV Rays and Gamma-rays, and it has long since been established that large doses these ionizing rays can cause cancer as it dislodges atoms from the cells DNA, breaking chemical bonds and thus causing cell mutations.

Non-Ionizing radiation however, such as microwaves and the radio waves emitted by cell phones, whilst they are not strong enough to break up the atoms, it does heat them up quite a bit and this can still affect the cells DNA. Keith Black, chairman of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, recently told CNN “What [cell phone radiation] does is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain” Though the effects of this “cooking: are not well defined, some scientists believe it may spur the growth of brain tumours.

What about Kids and cell phones?

Well, according to Keith Black of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center “Children's skulls and scalps are thinner. So the radiation can penetrate deeper into the brain of children and young adults. Their cells are dividing at a faster rate, so the impact of radiation can be much larger"

Children are a great cause for concern because many parents are now finding it necessary to give their kids a cell phone in order to keep in touch with them whenever they are away from the house. According to the NCI "Cell phone use by children and adolescents is increasing rapidly, and they are likely to accumulate many years of exposure during their lives". This is something we need to give great consideration.

So how can you minimize your exposure to radiation?

Non-ionizing radiation is emitted by a cell phone's antenna, which is usually embedded inside the handheld device itself. The best way to minimize your exposure is to use a headset, which allows you to conduct phone calls without holding your phone to your ear.

power radiated from the phone drops off rapidly with distance, so some researchers say you can significantly decrease your exposure by simply holding your phone away from your head slightly during phone calls. Some cell phone manufacturers recommend doing this. The Apple iPhone 4 safety manual advises, "When using iPhone near your body for voice calls or for wireless data transmission over a cellular network, keep iPhone at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) away from the body." Blackberry Bold tells users to "keep the BlackBerry device at least 0.98 in. (25 mm) from your body when the BlackBerry device is transmitting."

My advice is that it is better to be safe than sorry!

Be blessed and stay healthy!
sharbs

Sources: LiveScience.com

http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2011/08/27/do-cell-phones-cause-brain-cancer.aspx?e_cid=20110827_DNL_art_1