Cellphones Linked to Cancer

cell-phones-brain-cancerThere has been renewed concerns that using a cell phone can give you brain cancer.  In recent years, many studies have been carried out in order to find the link between cell phone use and brain tumors. But, it has not been successful at all. On the other hand, the International Agency for Research on Cancer which is a team of 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, categorized cellphone use after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety. The team found enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” What that means is they found some evidence of an increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for people who use cellphones, but have not been able to draw definite conclusions for other types of cancers. Which can be both positive and negative depending on how one views it. Due to the fact that cell phones have been used by everyone for a relatively short time, it is not yet possible to completely rule out that someone can acquire cancer after long time use. “The biggest problem we have is that we know most environmental factors take several decades of exposure before we really see the consequences,” said Dr. Keith Black, chairman of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, ”What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain. So in addition to leading to a development of cancer and tumors, there could be a whole host of other effects like cognitive memory function, since the memory temporal lobes are where we hold our cell phones.” Scientist who try to share their negative findings about the radiation emitted from cell phones are constantly attacked by those who use cellphones routinely. They are accused of being corrupt and against the cell phone industry. It is still believed by many that the lower frequency radiation from power lines and electric appliances pose a cancer threat, despite the fact that more than thirty years of research has shown that exposure to those levels show no effects.I believe that is is simply because cellphones are used so frequently in todays world as a mean of communication even if they did pose a threat it would not discourage people from using them. Recently, the World Health Organization listed mobile phone use in the same “carcinogenic hazard” category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform and use has not been affected. Manufacturers of many popular cell phones warn people who buy their product to keep the device away from their body. Medical experts say there other ways to minimize cell phone radiation such as speaking on the phone using the speaker phone setting or texting instead of phone calls. The reason behind these recommendations is the further the phone is from the body, the less radiation is able to be absorbed.

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/31/who.cell.phones/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/10694565/Cancer-and-nerve-damage-is-this-the-human-cost-of-an-iPhone.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffreykabat/2013/03/05/do-cell-phones-cause-brain-cancer-the-diehards-cling-desperately-to-opinion/
http://www.businessinsider.com/cell-phone-cancer-2010-11http://www.businessinsider.com/cell-phone-cancer-2010-11

5 thoughts on “Cellphones Linked to Cancer

  1. Douglas Matthew Leeson

    This is such a popular topic, yet I can’t seem to find anything conclusive one way or another. I know that that can be attributed to the relatively new popularity of cell phones, but when studies have existed long enough to draw conclusions, I hope they are positive. Cell phones really are vastly important today, and are just as much tools of productivity as they are distraction. If there is a serious link to cancer, our generation could be in some big trouble.

  2. Caitlin Marie Gailey

    I recently wrote a blog post on the same topic however found different results. Although I did not find that cell phones are entirely safe to keep near your body as you are correct they do produce small amounts of radiation. However so do other things we are exposed to everyday, like the sun and microwaves. I think due to the fact that cell phone use is so new we don’t have enough information to conclude whether or not a correlation can be made between cell phones and cancer. I do agree with you though that precautions should be made till we know for sure the affect cell phones have on our body. In the meantime here is a link to a study I used that supported the idea that scientists are still unsure.

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.3322/caac.20055/

  3. Marissa Alexandra Rapaport

    I’m always interested in this topic because I, like many others, am I avid cell phone user. Although, I try to be careful about where I place my cell phone. I think the reason they link cell phone use and brain tumors is not only because people put their phones to their head while making a phone call, but also because people tend to put their phone next to their head while they sleep. I always make sure that my phone is away from my head while I go to sleep just in case if there is a true link between brain tumors and cell phones.

  4. Emily A Glogowski

    Like any other normal person, I definitely am constantly on my phone. i was unaware of the harm it can do, but I feel it doesn’t pose much of a threat to me. I don’t often speak on the phone so that issue is generally avoided. But there is one slight habit I find myself getting into. That is sleeping with my phone under the pillow. I definitely need to stop this as soon as possible knowing these facts!

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