Ring, ring...can your cell phone cause cancer?
Submitted by Marie on 27 July, 2008 - 09:06.
They come in different styles to represent who you are, with matching accessories, different colours and even your personalized ring tones to choose from! In Australia, you even have a wide variety of payment plans to choose from, or just opt to pay as you go (pre-paid but you must buy the phone outright). A new model with new whiz bang features seem to come out every few weeks from the many different companies out there, trying to sell you the latest and best ever cell phone with camera, radio, ability to surf the net, gps, personal organiser, etc...and some models now have those special touch phone features like apple's iphone or the htc's touch phone. Literally, the market is just saturated with many cell phone models that are out there for sale and at different price ranges.
Which one do you have and why did you choose that particular mobile/cell phone? As for myself, I ended up getting a htc touch phone last christmas as it came with an organiser (which I needed). I was impressed with the touch technology it possessed, to allow me to navigate through my screens and menus. I have seen and did do some research on apple's iphone; unfortunately with all the bureaucratic issues between apple's iphone and one of our biggest telecommunications company here, (eg: contractual obligations, network access issues)...it turned me off from getting one at the time.
The cell phone was invented 35 years ago by Martin Cooper. He was a general manager for the systems division at Motorola and had an interest in embedded wireless devices. In an interview with the SMH newspaper on March 28th, 2008 Mr Cooper said that, "While the popularity of mobile phones has skyrocketed, with more than 3 billion people owning cell phones now compared with only 300,000 in 1984...he sees much more room for wireless in industries ranging from health care to power."
Although recent studies have proven to be inconclusive, in terms of any links between mobile/cell phones and cancer (in particular, brain tumors); a recent article published three days ago (July 24th, 2008) in the SMH newspaper wrote about how the head of a prominent cancer research institute (from the University of Pittsburgh) Dr. Ronald B. Herberman has warned that everyone should not be complacent when using their cell phone because of the electromagnetic radiation that is emitted. This is of particular concern in young children, as their brains are still developing. Eventhough, a lot of worldwide studies in this area have not found a link between cancer and cellular phone usage, Dr. Herberman argues that because it takes a very long time for science and a conclusive study in this area to come to a resolution, we should act now and should only use our cell phones for emergency use only.
I believe this is sound advise. I mean, when cigarettes were first sold and used by people it was glamorised and shown to be a really cool thing to take up. It has taken many years, but now Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research in the UK are urging the public to give up smoking, as research studies can now prove that the habit is linked to at least 14 different types of cancer which cause around 70,000 deaths every year.
Like I have said at the beginning of this post, many of us probably own one or two and know a lot of our families and friends that also own and use a cell phone; and our reliance of this device and technology has been increasing of late, so please use it wisely. Only use it for emergency or for short periods of time. Being proactive and promoting prevention is much more sensible than waiting for scientific research to prove whether or not cell phones is linked to cancer.
By extension it would seem that wireless laptops pose a cancer risk as well, particularly if held directly on the lap.
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Submitted by Andrew R Hahn (not verified) on 27 July, 2008 - 21:38.I've heard about the effect of mobile phones on our health before, but have no idea if it's right or wrong. Now I am convince that those rumors are true.
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Submitted by Norhafidz (not verified) on 28 July, 2008 - 05:05.To sensibly consider these alegations and advice, you have to be aware of the limitations of science.
Cancers linked to mobile phone usage are likely to take a very long time to develop. Therefore, any study on them will need a very long time to run, you won't get an answer tomorrow. Also, if frequent mobile phone usage increases cancer incidences by just 2%(which is a large number of people in the global population), then it will take a huge number of cases to prove that statistically. It'll take decades to prove, one way or the other.
In the meantime standard advice is to alternate where you kepe your phone: hip pocket one day, breast pocket the next, or even in a bag instead.
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Submitted by Ferox (not verified) on 28 July, 2008 - 08:11.@Andrew R Hanh - Thanks for pointing this out, especially with the increasing use (and at times dependence) of cell phones and laptops by many people these days, we need to also keep this in the back of our minds.
@Norhafidz - Although the scientists do not agree and the scientific research studies are still inconclusive, we do need to be aware of any potential side effects that may come about after long term exposure to electromagnetic radiation that is emitted from our mobile/cell phones.
@Ferox - That is so true, it will take many, many years for research to take place and evaluate their results. Prevention is certainly the key. I have also read articles that men should keep their laptops and mobile/cell phones away from their groin region or laps as it can lead to a low sperm count and in some cases even infertility.
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Submitted by Marie on 28 July, 2008 - 12:00.There have been so many write ups about this and yet, as you have mentioned, none is conclusive though... In my line of work, hand phone has become a necessity and it is quite worrying as to how safe it is...
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Submitted by shaxx (not verified) on 28 July, 2008 - 23:43.In Malaysia, the common terms used is "handphone". There are rumors and some said it is true, it is wise to stay away also. But the trend is slowly moving away from mobile phone to pda/palm/tablet pc/pocket pc. I think, in maybe 10 or 20 years, there won't be any mobile phone in the market.
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Submitted by Atniz (not verified) on 29 July, 2008 - 08:08.Keeping up with technology is very difficult to do nowadays. With new features being added as we speak, it's becoming more and more impossible to keep up. If medical science is going to do a study on the effects of mobile phones to our health, they will have to keep up with the changes being made almost everyday. It will be harder for those guys to determine the cause of the illness and harder for them to find a cure.
I read somewhere that some mobile phone companies are starting a trend to use mobile phones as health gadgets. This is quite disturbing as we have no idea yet if cellphones causes illness. The fact that they are promoting new features which makes people want to use it more is alarming.
By the way I'm only using one phone. :)
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Submitted by Louie on 29 July, 2008 - 14:16.I seen a clip where 3 cellphones made a bunch of corn popped into popcorns when the cellphones rang. It was a pretty shocking clip. Next time when I use my cellphone, I wonder if I'm microwaving my brain...
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Submitted by MarketingDeviant (not verified) on 30 July, 2008 - 00:13.@shaxx - My concern is our increase in use and reliance of cell phones each day in our daily lives; particularly as in your case, how you need it for work.
@Atniz - Thanks for letting me know that you refer to these devices as a 'handphone'. It will be interesting to see the move to using pda/palm/tablet pc/pocket pc rather than a mobile/cell phone.
@Louie - That's so true Louie, with the advent of new features and technologies coming out for cell phones, it will make it even more difficult for scientific researchers to determine the actual cause when technology is changing at such a rapid rate.
PS: I only own and use one mobile/cell phone too. :)
@MarketingDeviant - Wow, that sounds totally unbelievable! I'd be shocked too if I saw this happen. However, I have noticed that if I talk too long on the cell phone, my ear and phone gets really hot! There's probably some truth in this...hmmm
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Submitted by Marie on 30 July, 2008 - 08:50.they do these types of research every few months it seems. my mother swears that my laptop is going to cause testicular cancer. i remember when i was in high school. they were saying my beeper would could cancer. microwave? I hope cell phones don't tho. i practically sleep with my iphone.
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Submitted by bloggernoob (not verified) on 2 August, 2008 - 04:22.They have been warning about the use of mobile phones here in the UK for some time. I don't use mine very often at all, as much for text messages (SMS) as anything, but my sons use them for work. I wish they didn't.
I find the different names in different countries interesting - mobiles in the UK, France call them portables, handy in Germany.
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Submitted by A. (not verified) on 2 August, 2008 - 14:24.@bloggernoob - Perhaps when you go to sleep place your iphone a little away from you, like on a table or desk.
@A Changing Life - I try to also use mine as minimally as possible, but it's difficult when people rely on it for work. Thanks for letting me know how people in the UK, France and Germany refer to these little phone devices, it's really interesting how different places call them by different names :)
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Submitted by Marie on 5 August, 2008 - 12:37.I was in very good health five years ago, then I purchased my first cell phone. Within one year I developed cancer on the left side of my ear where I listen to my calls and on my right side where I carried the cell phone, when it wasn't in use but still was turned on.
I almost died, went through almost one year of chemo, surgery and never make a complete come back. Because of that, I retired and became a directory owner and then started blogging.
I still use a cell phone, but I only turn it on when I need to make a emergency call.
The strange thing is that my dog, started to sniff me where the cancer was located at, way before it showed up on the CT and MRI scans.
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Submitted by Squeaky (not verified) on 31 August, 2008 - 15:10.@Squeaky - You have been through a great deal. Thanks for sharing your story and I hope we can all learn from your experience.
PS: Wow, your dog must have a cancer detector built in! :P
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Submitted by Marie on 1 September, 2008 - 09:36.Post new comment