What causes cancer?
 PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Doctors say there's no doubt cigarettes cause cancer. But how about things like cell phones, saccharine, or plastic baby bottles? Well, that's where the debate begins. Some experts say certain everyday products could contain chemicals that are life threatening over a lifetime of use. Other experts say there's absolutely no reason for alarm. What's a consumer to do?
Seven-week-old Parker Frederick is growing up green. Mom Alaina uses only cloth diapers. She says these days she obsessively scans the labels of all household products. "Half the stuff you can't read, can't pronounce, don't know what it is," Frederick told Ivanhoe. That is exactly the point Devra Davis, Ph.D., MPH, at the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute is making in her new book "The Secret History of the War on Cancer". Dr. Davis says just because a product is on a store shelf, you can't assume it is safe.
Dr. Davis says some bubble baths and shampoos have a substance called 1,4 dioxane in them, which has been linked to cancer in lab rats. Some plastic baby bottles may also contain a compound called bisphenol A, which may accelerate cancer growth. Other things on Dr. Davis' list to avoid -- artificial sweeteners and cell phones.
"They're concerned about plastic bottles or bubble bath and I say probably the riskiest thing you do every day is get up in the morning, get in the bathtub and drive to the clinic," Dr. Raymond, told Ivanhoe. But when it comes to the health of her boys, Alaina Frederick isn't taking chances. If she doesn't know what's in it, her kids aren't going to use it. If you would like more information, please contact: |
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October 11, 2008
- Roseburg, Oregon
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Some of the biggest health risks? Davis says they include some children's products marketed in the united states. "The European Union has a policy that if something causes cancer in rats or mice, it ought not to be in our babies' baths and shampoos. We don't have such a policy," Dr. Davis told Ivanhoe. 
Jane Raymond, M.D., at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa., counsels her patients not to be overly concerned about every potential cancer risk. She says many findings come from small studies and need further research. 
