Cell Phones And Breast Cancer

What Have Expert Organizations Said About The Cancer Risk From Cell Phone Use

In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer , a component of the World Health Organization, appointed an expert working group to review all available evidence on the use of cell phones. The working group classified cell phone use as possibly carcinogenic to humans, based on limited evidence from human studies, limited evidence from studies of radiofrequency radiation and cancer in rodents, and inconsistent evidence from mechanistic studies .

The working group indicated that, although the human studies were susceptible to bias, the findings could not be dismissed as reflecting bias alone, and that a causal interpretation could not be excluded. The working group noted that any interpretation of the evidence should also consider that the observed associations could reflect chance, bias, or confounding variables rather than an underlying causal effect. In addition, the working group stated that the investigation of brain cancer risk associated with cell phone use poses complex research challenges.

The American Cancer Societys cell phones page states It is not clear at this time that RF waves from cell phones cause dangerous health effects in people, but studies now being done should give a clearer picture of the possible health effects in the future.

Dont Use Cell Phone Bra Holders Or Pockets And Dont Tuck Your Phone Into Your Bra

Radiologists are diagnosing many younger women in their 20s with breast cancer and not just small tumors but extensive breast cancer. Many of the women diagnosed are adamant that they tucked their cell phone into their bra over the area that subsequently developed breast cancer. And most admit to this practice on a routine and regular basis. Doctors advise women to keep their cell phones away from their bras along with other parts of their bodies until studies conclude a direct correlation between the close proximity of a cell phone causing cancer.

Ever Stash Your Cell Phone In Your Bra Do You Worry About Your Risk Of Breast Cancer Everyday I See Women Walking Around La With Phones Tucked Into The Front Of Their Bras Or With Noticeable Rectangular Bulges Poking Out From Under Their Armpits

Theres even a new bra on the market with a pocket designed for your phone. But is this easy and convenient way to carry our personal digital assistants a risky idea?

I was surprised at what I found when I took a closer look at the issue. Although studies have examined the connection between brain cancer and holding a cell phone to your head, no one has researched whether tucking one next to breast flesh might increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. But doctors, and many others, think we should be investigating this possibility.

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How can cell phones damage breast health? The governments National Cancer Institute advises:

Cell phones emit radiofrequency energy, a form of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, which can be absorbed by tissues closest to where the phone is held.

The Environmental Working Group has long been advocating for more rigorous safety standards to meet newer cell phone technologies. In their Guide to Safer Cell Phone Use they warn consumers to hold phone away from your body.

Even the makers of the Blackberry and iPhone caution that their products should not be placed next to the skin. A CNN Health report adds that these recommendations are made because the further the phone is from the body, the less radiation is absorbed.

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Is There A Connection Between Cell Phones And Cancer

The possible connection between cellphones and cancer is controversial. Many years worth of studies on cellphones and cancer have yielded conflicting results. Currently, theres no consensus about the degree of cancer risk if any posed by cellphone use. The primary concern with cellphones and cancer seems to be the development

Verify: Can You Get Breast Cancer By Keeping Your Phone In Your Bra

A viewer reached out to us worried, asking if we can verify if putting a cell phone in your bra causes breast cancer?

We looked at several large research studies about the link between cancer and phones and all of them found no connection between cancer and cell phone use.

We spoke with a doctor who said, At this point, there is no evidence for it causing any problem. It has been extensively studied.

And the FDA agrees with the doctor saying, We believe the current safety limits for cell phones are acceptable and protecting public health.

So, to answer the question: Does a mobile phone under your bra strap cause cancer? The answer is NO!

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What Causes Breast Cancer

There are many possible causes of breast cancer, but the most important risk factors are gender and age . About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who are 50 years old or older.

Other risk factors include personal history of breast cancer, dense breast tissue, certain hormone exposures, radiation exposure, alcohol consumption, obesity, and inherited genetic mutations. Some of these risk factors can be changed or modified, but others cannot.

Most experts agree that using a cell phone does not increase your risk of developing breast cancer. However, there is still some debate on this topic, and more research is needed to determine a definitive answer.

Yes Phones In Bras Are A Thing

Like it or not, womens clothing design often favors form over function. Pockets can ruin the lines of a garment, so designers simply do away with them. Sportswear is a great example how many women, heading out for a jog on their own, opt to stash their cell phone in their sports bra rather than risk being without it?

Other women simply find that slipping their phone into their bra is a handy way to keep it safe and close at hand. Some bras and sports bras these days are even deliberately designed with cell phone pockets built in to cater to this habit.

In one 2017 study from Australia, 25% of women surveyed had carried their phones in their bras at one time or another, with 15% having done so in the past week. The youngest age groups had the highest rates of phone-in-bra use.

To think about it another way, thats 15 women out of every 100 regularly carrying their cell phone directly against their chest and breasts.

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According to the CDC, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States. Hence we arrive at the question of whether its safe to carry your phone in your bra.

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Can Putting Your Phone In Your Bra Cause Cancer

Lets get one thing straight from the start: establishing a scientific cause and effect for diseases is complicated. For one thing, many diseases are caused by multiple environmental and genetic factors, not one thing alone.

On top of that, epidemiological studies are expensive to run and generally dont give conclusive proof, while laboratory studies dont always reflect the real world. Our post about the health risks of cell phones explains this in detail if you want to know more.

Suffice to say, these exact limitations apply to studying cell phones in bras.

What we can do is take a look at the information available and use that to help us decide how to act.

So heres what we do know.

Is There A Link Between Cell Phone Use And Cancer

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that no scientific evidence definitively answers whether cell phone use causes cancer. The Federal Communications Commission concludes that currently no scientific evidence establishes a definite link between wireless device use and cancer or other illnesses.

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Has The Incidence Of Brain And Central Nervous System Cancers Changed During The Time Cell Phone Use Increased

No. Investigators have studied whether the incidence of brain or other central nervous system cancers has changed during the time that cell phone use increased dramatically. These studies found:

• stable incidence rates for adult gliomas in the United States , Nordic countries and Australia during the past several decades
• stable incidence rates for pediatric brain tumors in the United States during 19932013
• stable incidence rates for acoustic neuroma , which are nonmalignant tumors, and meningioma , which are usually nonmalignant, among US adults since 2009

In addition, studies using cancer incidence data have tested different scenarios determining whether the incidence trends are in line with various levels of risk as reported in studies of cell phone use and brain tumors between 1979 and 2008 . These simulations showed that many risk changes reported in case-control studies were not consistent with incidence data, implying that biases and errors in the study may have distorted the findings.

Because these studies examine cancer incidence trends over time in populations rather than comparing risk in people who do and dont use cell phones, their ability to observe potential small differences in risk among heavy users or susceptible populations is limited. Observational/epidemiologic studiesincluding casecontrol and cohort studies are designed to measure individual exposure to cell phone radiation and ascertain specific health outcomes.

Whats The Difference Ionizing And Non

Wireless technologies use forms electromagnetic waves to carry signals from one place to another. Electromagnetic waves are forms of radiation that come in two main forms: ionizing and non-ionizing.

Non-ionizingradiation is generally considered harmless to humans. Examples of non-ionizing radiation include radio waves that transmit sound and visuals to a radio or television, or when you use the remote control to change the channel on your television. Microwaves and infrared radiation are considered non-ionizing. Cell phones release low levels of a type of non-ionizing radiation called radiofrequency energy.

Ionizing radiation is described by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences as mid- to high-frequency radiation that can, under some circumstances, lead to DNA or cell damage after extended exposure. Examples of ionizing radiation include specific types of ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays.

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What Do Studies Show

Researchers use 2 main types of studies to try to determine if something might cause cancer:

• Studies done in the lab
• Studies looking at groups of people

In most cases neither type of study provides enough evidence on its own to show if something causes cancer in people, so researchers usually look at both lab-based and human studies.

The following is a brief summary of some of the major studies that have looked at this issue to date. However, this is not acomprehensive review of all studies that have been done.

Radiation From Cell Phones

Cell phones give off small amounts of a type of radiation called radiofrequency radiation, or radio waves. It’s called non-ionizing radiation, and it’s the same type you find in FM radio waves and microwaves.

Itâs different from ionizing radiation, which comes from things like X-rays and ultraviolet light. That kind of radiation can chemically damage your DNA and increase your risk of cancer.

The non-ionizing type from phones doesnât have enough energy to directly damage the DNA in your cells. Still, parts of your body near your phone’s antenna can absorb its radiation.

Because we often hold our phones next to our heads when making calls, scientists have wondered whether this might lead to tumors in the brain, ear, or neck area.

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Dr Vikki Petersen Dc Ccn

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner

Dr Vikki Petersen is a public speaker, author of two books, several eBooks and creates cutting edge content for her YouTube community. Dr Vikki is committed to bringing Root Cause Medicine and its unique approach to restoring health naturally to the world.

How Many Cases Of Breast Cancer Are Sporadic

Indeed, only 5-10% of cases are inherited, and less than 20% are associated with a genetic predisposition. That means that over 80% of cases are sporadic, which basically means we dont know what caused them.. They are not linked to a strong family history or mutations in a gene known to predispose to breast cancer.

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Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors: Legal Precedent

Reports like the UK study mentioned above continue to support the existence of a strong link between cell phones and brain cancer. And major health organisations are taking note.

The World Health Organization, for example, classified radio frequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans back in 2011.

What that means is they found some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users, but have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers, CNN reported at the time.

So why is there still debate surrounding the link?

Establishing a clear and indisputable connection between cell phones and cancer remains a difficult task. As one recent report notes, there are many methodological barriers to designing accurate studies. Largely due to the fact that EMFs are imperceptible, ubiquitous, have multiple sources, and can vary greatly over time and short distances.

But, as time passes, these links are becoming more obvious and the causal link between cell phones and brain tumors is now legal precedent, affirmed by two separate courts.

As the Daily Mail reported in 2017:

A man has been awarded monthly social security payments after a court found that his brain tumor was caused by a company-issued cellphone it was the first trial court verdict in the world to recognize a link between cellphone use and the development of brain tumor.

Anywhere In Your Bathroom

Although cell phones could arguably be the new newspaper, its not a good idea to take yours into the bathroom. Even if you keep your device on a counter or away from the toilet, anything within three feet of a flushing one could end up with bacteria or viruses in the air, according to a study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The detection of bacteria and viruses falling out onto surfaces in bathrooms after flushing indicated that they remain airborne long enough to settle on surfaces throughout the bathroom, wrote the study authors. Next, check out 13 easy ways to speed up your cell phone.

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How Far Away From Your Body Should Your Cell Phone Be

Does your cell phone speak of such warnings? iPhones do. If you have one, do this exercise:

Go to settings > go to general > go to about > scroll to the bottom and click on legal > go to the bottom to RF exposure > you can read it all, but minimally read the 3rd paragraph where it discusses how far from the body the cell phone should be.

p.s. 10 mm = 1/2 inch

More studies need to occur but for now, heading the warning of not wearing your cell phone might be prudent. It has also been established the young children should not play with cell phones as their skull is thinner and the brain is, therefore, more affected by the RF radiation.

Another study looked at men who placed their cell phone in their back pocket for the majority of their waking hours. On the side that they placed their phone, the density of the hip bones was less than the side that didnt receive any radiation.

What Has Research Shown About The Link Between Cell Phone Use And Cancer Risk

Researchers have carried out several types of population studies to investigate the possibility of a relationship between cell phone use and the risk of tumors, both malignant and nonmalignant . Epidemiologic studies are research studies in which investigators observe groups of individuals and collect information about them but do not try to change anything about the groups.

Two main types of epidemiologic studiescohort studies and case-control studieshave been used to examine associations between cell phone use and cancer risk. In a casecontrol study, cell phone use is compared between people who have tumors and people who dont. In a cohort study, a large group of people who do not have cancer at the beginning of the study is followed over time and tumor development in people who did and didnt use cell phones is compared. Cohort studies are limited by the fact that they may only be able to look at cell phone subscribers, who are not necessarily the cell phone users.

The tumors that have been investigated in epidemiologic studies include malignant brain tumors, such as gliomas, as well as nonmalignant tumors, such as acoustic neuroma , meningiomas , parotid gland tumors , skin cancer, and thyroid gland tumors.

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Where Does Breast Cancer Come From

Breast cancer most commonly arises from the milk ducts, so its not surprising to see this sort of pattern. In this particular case, however, because the pattern involved ducts on the lateral side of the breast, which is where this woman held her cell phone, obviously it must have been the cell phone.

Ethics Approval And Consent To Participate

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Taipei Medical University Hospital Institutional Review Board and conformed to the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided written informed consent before study enrollment. None of the patients who provided consent was eliminated from the study. All methods were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

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