Cancer and Cell Phonesby Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger 26 Dec 2006 11:02 AM A recently published study from the Danish Cancer Society is ready to put to rest the fear that cell phones cause cancer. Since 1982, the Danish Cancer Society has been watching and testing cell phone users. In twenty-one years of study, there was no rise in cancer among cell phone users. More than four hundred and twenty thousand Danish cell phone users participated in the study. On average, the participants used a cell phone for eight and a half years; some of the participants had their phones for the duration of the study, which started in 1982 and ran through 2002. Out of the entire group, just over fourteen thousand people developed cancer -- a number that is actually less than the cancer rate for the general population of Denmark! The Danish Cancer Society study included Joachim Schuz, PhD -- who had previously studied the link (or lack of a link) between cell phone use and cancer risk over a shorter period of time. Schuz's three year study was published in 2001. The researchers found no evidence for a relationship between cell phone use and different forms of cancer. Both short term and long term users showed no increase in brain cancer, leukemia, optical tumors, and salivary gland tumors. But the study doesn't end there. The researchers from the Danish Cancer Society call these results "reassuring" and plan to keep tracking cancer among cell phone users. Cancer can take a long time to develop, and cell phones are still relatively new. The antenna of a cell phone emits electromagnetic fields that can penetrate as much as six centimeters into the human brain. That certainly isn't a natural condition for a brain to be under! But the Danish studies (and other studies around the world) have found no association between cell phone use and brain cancer. Read more about cancer at Families.com! Learn more about Aimee Amodio  Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover... Relevanthealth tags User Comments drlynne (52) 08 Mar 2007 11:09 AMThanks Aimee. I as well have reviewed the studies to date on cell phones, and most of these are quite reassuring. One study in Sweden did show an increase in benign brain tumors, but this was only in analogue cell phone users. I still, however, add a word of caution. Most substances that cause cancer have a latency period of 10 to 20 years. This is the period of time between exposure and the development of cancer. If we did a study on smokers who had smoked for 15 years, we would not see a large increase in cancer. But wait 40 years! Use a land line when available, purchase a head-set, and try not to make calls when driving. If cell phones are determined to be completely safe in 40 years, you may have at least avoided an accident! Thanks! Lynne Eldridge M.D. Author, "Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time" http://www.avoidcancernow.com Community Tags brain cancer, cell phones, cancer, tumors Discuss this article
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