Cancer Myths Part 2

In my previous post I debunked the myth of bra’s causing cancer. For my second post of the series I decided to focus on something that was a little more relatable to everyone, cell phones. Unsurprisingly I found the topic was much more controversial than the bra myth and much more complicated as well.

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Cell phones, they’re something we are all undeniably attached to. I, like many my age, am guilty of doing something I’ve been told can be very dangerous, sleeping with my phone. I use it as my alarm clock, so I find it only natural to tuck it under my pillow at night and vibrate to wake my up in the morning. Because I do not turn my phone off I am constantly being subjected to electronic waves very close to my brain, which some argue could possibly cause a brain tumor.

Recently many studies have been done to try to prove or disprove this hypothesis. One study followed 420,000 cell phone users for a 20 year period and found there was not enough evidence to prove a link between phone use and brain cancer. Another study found a small number of participants in a study were diagnosed with malignant tumors in their salivary glands. Finally another study showed a certain type of brain tumor, specifically Glimoa, was the most prominent type of brain tumor discovered, if any was found at all. (Timothy J. Moynihan).

Generally speaking the variety of results on the topic can be rather misleading, similar to the problems with early smoking research. There is no certainty in any published journals so far that cell phone use has in fact been linked to the creation of brain tumors. Most studies were conducted with a large amount of participants which would make them seem more reliable. For the most part I believe this is true, however since it is not an experiment I think it would be remiss to not mention the possible variables that could affect the results. As mentioned by one of the studies certain people may spend more time on their phone than others, possibly presenting themselves at a higher risk. In addition individuals use different types of cell phones, each presenting a different amount of electronic waves that could cause a brain tumor. Finally each individual has started using a cell phone at a different age, which could greatly factor how much exposure they have had and increase their chances of brain tumor development.

One of the most challenging aspects to this controversy is time period. Only recently have cell phones become a necessity for modern culture, so there isn’t much data for scientists to rely on. Similar to the smoking issue it may take 100 years for enough data to be collected to discover if there is a correlation between increased time spent with your cell phone (like sleeping) and tumor development.

I think with time the answer to this question will become more clear. As for now the jury is out on what scientists believe to be true. So far the data available seems to suggest that there is no direct correlation between phone usage and developing brain tumors, however some tumors have been found. In general there is a consensus that we simply don’t know if this is true or not. So for now I don’t believe it is necessary to leave my phone across the room to charge, but I may put it on my nightstand instead of sleeping with it directly under my pillow, just to be safe.

Work Cited

Dreyfuss, John Henry. “Mixed Results on Link Between Cellular Telephones and Cancer.” A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Wiley Online Library, 18 Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

“No Risk of Brain Tumors from Cell Phones.” National Cancer Institute. National Cancer Institute, 17 May 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Moynihan, Timothy J. “Adult Health.” Cellphones and Cancer: What’s the Risk? Mayo Clinic, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

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