Continuing the conversation on cell phones and brain cancer.
In response to my last post on Are you doing all you can to protect your brain from your mobile phone? my fellow blogger Roy Ackerman sent a comment and link to his related post. In light of Roy’s comment and link, I thought it was a good idea to continue the conversation.
As bloggers we write about topics of interest and many times draw upon various informational resources. My primary resource was a 2008 article from Scientific American. I thought the article was still relevant and my overall intent was to identify some of the different opinions. It was not my intent to infer a conclusive link between cell phone use and brain cancer, but I did offer related “brain health” guidelines. In looking back, I perceive my error was in using the word “protection” in the post title to be misleading.
In Roy’s post of June 4, 2011 he points out the statistical relationship is insufficient to generalize conclusions from rare forms of brain cancer. http://www.adjuvancy.com/wordpress/http:/www.adjuvancy.com/wordpress/attention-attention-cell-phones-cancer/
The dangers that a product may pose in the mind of the general public is can range from unrealistic to cause for concern. When it comes to cell phones and radiation, the issue is complicated by low levels of emission, no significant rise in brain cancer rates, different research approaches and interpretations, and variations in use by consumers in general. As consumers we want to believe that products are safe, and that questions of safety have passed some form of testing, review or on-going monitoring.
Since we are still in the process of determining the health implications of cell phones, I’ve included a number of links that may be of benefit in helping you address your own concerns (these links are for informational purposes only).
National Cancer Institute: answers 12 primary questions about cell phones and cancer risks. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones
CENT: June 6, 2011, Marguerite Reardon, Cellphone radiation: A self defense guide (FAQ), http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20068419-266/cell-phone-radiation-a-self-defense-guide-faq/ (includes list of low and high model radiation levels)
CNET: July 16, 2012, Lynne La and Kent German, Cell phone radiation levels http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phone-radiation-levels/
CNET: August 7, 2012, Elinor Mills, U.S.report: FCC’s cell phone radiation guidelines outdated http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57488625-94/u.s-report-fccs-cell-phone-radiation-guidelines-outdated/
CNN: May 31, 2011, Danielle Dellorto, WHO: cell phone use can increase possible cancer risks, (includes video commentary)http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/31/who.cell.phones/index.html
Reuters: June16, 2012, Julie Steenhuysen and Jasmin Melvin, Cell Phone Radiation Is Getting Attention From The FCC http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/16/cell-phone-radiation-fcc_n_1602767.html
Reports of Research:
Environmental Health Trust: April 18, 2012 Mobile and cordless phone radiation alters brain proteins may be key to cancer and dementia http://environmentalhealthtrust.org/mobile-and-cordless-phone-radiation-alters-brain-proteins-may-be-key-to-cancer-and-dementia/
DailyFinance.com: February 23, 2011, Melly Alazraki, Study Finds That Cell Phone Radiation Temporarily Affects the Brain http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/23/cell-phone-radiation-temporarily-affects-brain-study/