CELL PHONE RISK
How safe are cellphones? About 5 billion of us worldwide now use mobile phones. Cell phone use causes symptoms of short-term memory loss, eye strain insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety, and also increase the risk of brain cancer.
Science has shown increased risk of benign and malignant brain tumors from use of cellphones, as well as increased risk of eye cancer, salivary gland tumors, testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, tumors of the head and neck, and leukemia. : http://www.radiationresearch.org/pdfs/15reasons.asp
TIME AND RISK FACTORS
Research to date has mainly focused on cell phone use in the short term, less than 10 yrs. Brain tumors are less likely to show up within 10-15 years. as the cycle of a brain tumor takes 25 years, and in some cases 40 years develop. Children have much greater risks than adults for brain tumors.
Risk increases as time of first use increases and with total call time. People who have used cell phones for at least 10 years had a 2 to 4 times greater risk of acoustic neuromas and also are twice as likely to develop gliomas. Acoustic neuromas are benign and grow on the nerve linking the ear to the brain. Glioma's are malignant, hard to treat tumors of the brain and nervous system. The greatest risk is on the side of the head where the phone is held, and for tumors in the temporal lobe, where RF exposure is the highest.
When the highest 10% of cell phone users ( in terms of call time) were analyzed, they had a 40% increased risk for glioma, compared with those who had never used a cell phone. For people who had used a cell phone for more than 1 year, the risk for gliomas was 1.3 times higher (30%) than that in people who had never used a cell phone.
After more than 2000 hours of use, the risk is 3.2 times as high, and ipsilateral use of the cell phone resulted in even more risk. A causal interpretation between cell phone RF-EMF exposure and glioma is possible. (Int J Oncol. 2011;38:1465-1474),
PATHOLOGY & CAUSES
Mobile phones can boost brain tumor risk by exposing the brain to active magnetic energy. Cell phones users who develop brain tumors had larger tumors than non-cell phone users.
Using a cell phone for as little as 50 minutes at a time affects brain glucose metabolism in the region closest to the phone's antenna. The whole brain glucose metabolism, however, is not affected. Activity is increased in the orbito-frontal cortex and the temporal area especially where the phone's antenna meets the head.
INCONSISTENT EVIDENCE
The link between cell phone use and brain and central nervous system tumors has been widely investigated, but results have been inconsistent. Some studies have not supported the association, whereas others have observed modest to large increases in relative risk, usually of glioma. There have also been some reports of an increased risk for acoustic neuroma.
CONTINUED CONTROVERSY
The design flaws the studies include: categorizing subjects who used portable phones (which emit the same microwave radiation as cellphones,) as ‘unexposed', exclusion of many types of brain tumors, exclusion of people who had died or were too ill to be interviewed as a consequence of their brain tumor; and exclusion of children and young adults, who are more vulnerable.
Evidence supporting possible link between brain tumors and cell phone use comes from:
1.Series of clinical studies showing that risk increased with the number of cumulative hours of use, higher radiated power, and length of cell phone use. They also reported that younger users were at higher risk.
(Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, from the Department of Oncology, Orebro Medical Center, Sweden (Int J Oncol. 2006;28:509-518; Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2006;79:630-639; Arch Environ Health. 2004;59:132-137; Pathophysiology. 2009;16:113-122).
2. World Health Organization (WHO) announced their classification of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted from cell phones as "possibly carcinogenic”.( May 31, 2011)
3. Journal of Clinical Oncology which found evidence linking cell phone use to an increased risk for tumors. November 20, 2010 J Clin Oncol.
4. Hypothesis of cocarcinogenicity- International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that cell phones are "possibly carcinogenic”. Mobile phone radiation itself does not cause cancer but that long-term exposure increases the risk of developing cancer when other causes are part of the picture. Exposure to the radiation accelerated the development of cancers caused by spontaneous mutations. Not all users are in danger of developing brain cancer, only those who have other carcinogenic or genetic factors. (2011)They considered the potential carcinogenic hazards from exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by devices such as cell phones. should be considered to be "possibly carcinogenic" to humans (division 2B in the IARC.
5. Large INTERPHONE international case–control study and a pooled analysis of a series ofSwedish Study. Studies conflicted: actual glioma rates in the United States are consistent with the INTERPHONE study, but not with the rates based on the Swedish study.
The interphone study was partially funded by the cell phone industry resulting in the following comments on the validity of the meta-analysis as the funding sources of each research group. “ Because it is possible that these may have influenced the respective study designs and results, we recommend that research on the topic of [cell]-phone use and health should not be funded by the industry because funding sources can influence research in subtle ways, and to preserve the credibility of the research it is important to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest." Lancet Oncology june 22,2010.
6. the International Electromagnetic Field Collaborative study suggested that the regular use of cell phones can result in a "significant" risk for brain tumors. ( report released August 2009 )
7. "Cell phone radiation can cause cancer initiation as well as promote cancer . Long-term exposure to 2G cell phone radiation initiates cancer in male rats and damage of DNA in both male and female rats – Joel M. Moskowitz, PhD, director, Center for Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Published Medscape online August 8, 2016.
ALTERNATIVE THINKING
1. We need human epidemiological studies where exposures to tobacco smoke and to ultraviolet radiation in combination might be a solution for how to measure exposure to phone radiation — by using an app on smart phones. Such apps are already available (eg, Quanta, by Cellraid in Finland) This is a restatement of a hypothesis popular in the 1990s; the possibility that mobile phone RF radiation might be an epigenetic carcinogen, a promoter, or a co-carcinogen.
2. There is a need to show in molecular-level studies that cell phone radiation activates processes in the human body that lead to the development of brain cancer,”.( BMJ. March 8,2012. Dr. Leszczynski)
CONCLUSIONS
When something is 'possible' it means it's not completely safe. There are some very easy solutions that don't cost anything for those who want to play it safe and lower their risks of exposure.
1. Use hands-free devices or speaker-phone mode to avoid direct contact of the telephone with the head. If the phone is a foot or more away it is very unlikely to have any effects.
2. When talking on the phone, the human brain becomes more sensitive to electromagnetic radiation, Send text messages rather than voice mail when feasible. Use hands-free devices, bluetooth.
3. Limit the time you use your cell phone.
4. Avoid placing your phone in your jacket near your heart, or placing it inside your bra. Besides brain tumors, electromagnetic forces are also implicated in atrial fibrillation, and breast cancer, but this is another story.
Cell phones have been around for 25 years, but their use then was limited to a few people and its f use was also limited. It wasn't until more recently that their use became massively widespread. The answers researchers are looking for here may not be observable for 20 or 30 years. It amy take the scientific community a long time to reach definitive conclusions. For health reasons, you must always be observant, think outside of the box, and never be too complacent.
September 7, 2016 – Dr. Needles
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