Thyroid cancer increase puzzles experts
http://www.mast-victims.org/index.php?content=news&action=view&type=newsitem&id=4274
Oral Cancer News
Intensified screening doesn¹t entirely explain the jump in thyroid cancers noted in the United States since 1980, and scientists now believe that other as-yet-unknown factors are to blame.
A new study finds that thyroid tumors of all sizes are being picked up, not just the smaller ones that more aggressive screening would be expected to detect.
³You cannot simply explain this by increased screening, there¹s a real increased incidence,² said Dr. Amy Chen, lead author of a study published online July 13 in the journal Cancer.
Although, ³some of this increased incidence is due to increased screening finding smaller tumors,² she added.
The findings surprised one expert. ³I wrote a chapter about this for a textbook about a year ago and I came away thinking this [rise in cancers] is a reflection of enhanced diagnostics,² said Dr. Bruce J. Davidson, professor and chairman of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. But, ³it is more disturbing that it¹s not just small tumors; it seems to be all tumors,² he said.
An estimated 37,200 new cases of thyroid cancer will be diagnosed this year, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Fortunately, the cancer is considered highly curable, but the researchers said survival rates have not improved with better detection.
Until now, an uptick in cases seen over the past three decades was attributed to increased use of ultrasound and image-guided biopsy to detect tumors. Some researchers had found that thyroid cancer was diagnosed more often in areas with higher incomes and less in uninsured populations, adding further credence to this theory.
Looking at thyroid cancer cases from 1988 to 2005 reported in a large cancer database, Chen and her team found a higher incidence not just in small tumors, but across all sizes.
The most pronounced increase was seen in primary tumors under 1.0 centimeters < small ones for which many experts consider it safe to take a wait-and-see approach. The rate for these tumors rose almost 10 percent per year in men (1997 to 2005) and 8.6 percent per year in women (1988 to 2005). But the authors also saw a 3.7 percent annual increase in tumors exceeding 4 centimeters in men and a 5.7 percent yearly rise in these tumors in women.
Cancers that had spread also increased in men by 3.7 percent annually and in women by 2.3 percent. Thyroid cancer can be caused by exposure to radiation but there has been no evidence of increased exposure to radiation among Americans.
³People have looked at background radiation and nothing really has come of that that¹s very useful. And certainly not useful to us in why there would be a bump in incidence in the last 15 years,² Davidson said.
Chen proposed in the study that environmental, dietary and genetic issues be explored.
Source: HealthDay News
Author: Staff
Click here to view the source article.
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Best wishes,
Margaret
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Wave Your Health Good-Bye with Sky High WiFi
Friday, August 28, 2009 by: Christopher Babayode, citizen journalist (NaturalNews)
You only have to read travel blogs and the like to know the flying public have their hands full when dealing with jetlag. One recent survey amongst airport frequent flier lounge members listed jet lag as the most irritating aspect of flying they had to deal with. In a CNBC program called the Tech Report, the gathering pace of equipping aeroplanes with WiFi capability during flight is cause for concern. Anyone concerned about their health while flying can tell you that the drive to extend WiFi connectivity to commercial airlines doesn't bode well for fliers. It represents an increased danger to the health of all those who fly. The roll out being implemented by a number of airlines in the US and Europe shows a lack of understanding and care on the part of the airlines to their employees and passengers.
The potential source of revenue from a pay per browse WiFi system in the sky will not have escaped the airline industry. This potential revenue is even more valuable in the current economic climate which is hitting the aviation industry hard, especially as airlines see premium traffic revenue plummet.
Aviation technology specialists are talking up this revenue potential and receiving a lot of interest just as one of the major providers of this technology posts a healthy profit on Wall Street. (Bloomberg Bulletin - Feb 09 EMS Connects Fliers to Web, Spurring Unit's 20% growth.). As the number of studies urging caution in the use of this technology increases, the aviation industry chooses to carry on regardless of the consequences to our health. The worrying thing is that this behaviour is reminiscent of the tobacco industry and the way it responded to health concerns related to smoking.
WiFi connectivity relies on the use of the electromagnetic field also known as EMF's. Within this spectrum lie a wide range of frequencies measured in hertz (Hz). All electronic equipment including mobile phones and computers use these frequencies in order to work. WiFi connectivity in the sky involves using a particular range of the spectrum called Extremely Low Frequency radio waves (ELF's). The controversy surrounding EMF's and ELF's arises with the interaction of these frequencies with the human body and the Environment at large.
A recent review of over 2000 laboratory and epidemiological studies concluded there is enough evidence to proceed with caution in the use of ELF & EMF technologies. It goes on to define some ELF's and other frequencies of the electromagnetic field spectrum as carcinogenic and neurotoxic. The review conducted by the BioInitiative Working Group points out that current standards for safety are inadequate and presses for more stringent measures, rules and guidelines. In light of the evidence contained in this compilation of studies equipping planes with this technology seems ill advised.
Practical reasons to proceed with caution are playing themselves out in a wide variety of situations and disciplines the world over. On a philosophical note the reason to urge caution is simple, on reading a fraction of the points in the report we now know the long term effects of ELF and EMF exposure are trending towards the unfavourable. Until such a time when the risks can be removed or nullified caution is the only reasonable course of action.
E.F Schumacher says it best in his book Small is Beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered. To paraphrase one of Schumacher's ideas, there are gaps in human knowledge which warrant caution in our endeavours because of our lack of prescient knowledge. This is particularly important when we seem to automatically think that more/bigger is always better. Just because we have the power or the convenience to do something doesn't mean it should always be done.
The specific downside to implementing WiFi in the sky relates to the environment we experience when flying. Proximity and interaction with the Earth's surface, and an abundance of oxygen enliven and protect us from radiation of the ionizing and non ionizing variety. The Earth's surface is filled with an inexhaustible number of negatively charged ions which are vital to human health. Contact with these two nutrients constitutes the basis of human vitality on Earth. Therefore the flying environment which is neither in contact with the Earth and is lacking in abundant oxygen is a compromised environment. Taking this compromised environment and adding the complication of WiFi to the mix is a recipe for disaster.
WiFi in the sky adds a significant additional source of non ionizing radiation to the flying environment which is already filled with positively charged ions detrimental to our health. They cause staleness and dryness in the air, and more importantly accelerate oxidation in our bodies. Less oxygen at altitude increases the amount of available absorbable radiation and the ability of microbes, viruses and bacteria to thrive. Fliers already have enough to contend with and don't need any technology which makes this challenging environment worse.
Amongst other things the tendency is for flying to cause our bodies to go out of synchronicity with it's natural field, the same field on the surface of the Earth. This is because the Earth is a reference point for all circadian rhythms in our bodies. WiFi in the sky would increase dysynchronization by adding the dynamic of induction to the equation, but without the protection of an uncompromised environment (i.e. it would create a field between the electrical appliances/equipment and the user but without the protection you could have if you were on the ground). This increases the amount of unhealthy positive ions and thus degrades the cabin environment further to everyone's detriment.
The ethical question of whether WiFi should be fitted to planes echoes the covert battles fought between smokers and non smokers in the 1970 & 80's. Similar questions are being asked; why should everyone be made to suffer for the benefit or convenience of the few? It will probably be popular if given enough time to catch on but at what cost to our health? The truth is the benefit is no more than the extra dollars in the hands of the airline operators at the expense of all those who travel on these planes whether they use the service or not. Does compounding the existing health challenges of flying for the sake of pecuniary gain or technological advancement make good business sense or even more health challenged fliers?
References
Bloomberg Bulletin - Feb 09 EMS connects fliers to Web, spurring Units 20% growth.
BioInitiative Working Group: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for
Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF)
Maurice Ghaly et al. - The biological effects of Grounding the Human Body during Sleep as measured by Cortisol levels and subjective reporting of Sleep Pain and Stress.
E.F Schumacher - Small is beautiful; a study of economics as if people mattered.
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Detroit Alternative Medicine Examiner
Was Ted Kennedy's brain tumor caused by cell phone radiation?
August 26, 8:19 PM- Detroit Alternative Medicine Examiner- Vickie Jackson
Ever since the fateful news last year that Senator Edward Kennedy was suffering from a brain tumor, the rumors have abounded as to its origin. Tongues wagged that he was always using a cell phone, which in turn sparked speculation as to whether that was the cause of his illness. With all due respect to the grieving Kennedy family and the late Senator himself, there should be an open discussion in the light of all the information and disinformation.
It may be only a coincidence but a report was just released yesterday on the subject of mobile phone radiation and its effects on the human brain. The title is "Cell Phones and Brain Tumors--15 Reasons for Concerns", written by an international group of scientists from the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Austria, Germany, the UK, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Russia, Spain and Sweden. (See the link to this report at:
http://www.radiationresearch.org/pdfs/reasons_us.pdf
The list of the group's concerns are primarily focused on research the cellular manufacturers themselves came up with showing the risk of brain tumors. This research was apparently backed up by independent studies as well. Further information broke the results down to showing that use of cells for under ten years was less dangerous. Apparently for children, however, cell phones are particularly more insidious than for adults--and many kids today practically live on their beloved phones. Other concerns involved leaking of blood in the brain, damage to male fertility, and increased cell radiation strength in rural areas.
This very thorough study paper isn't telling the world anything new. While the fact is that the earth is full of radiation, from sunshine to the AC cord plugged into your TV, these are all of varying types, with strength that varies as well. A lot of the sources of electromagnetic radiation are also not held up to your head for long periods of time, either. As anyone who has studied even the most basic electronics would know, electromagnetic force will have an effect on other devices around it, called interference. Since the brain is essentially a highly-sophisticated bio-electronic device itself, it is easy to see that EMF can cause problems to brainwaves. What the long-term result will be on any given organism is only speculation at this point.
No matter what the exact cause of the late Senator Kennedy's illness, we should take the possibility of the connection to cell phone radiation as a warning. We will likely be seeing more cases such as this in the public eye before long.
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Mobile phone dangers highlighted again by academics - Industry insists handsets are safe
By Matt Hamblen
http://www.computerworlduk.com/technology/mobile-wireless/personal-tech/news/index.cfm?newsid=16352
Mobile phone users are being advised to limit their calls and take other measures to limit their risk of cancer from mobile devices.
According to the International EMF (Electromagnetic Field) Collaborative group of international scientists, children are especially at risk, noting that one recent Swedish study saw a 400% increased risk for teenage mobile phone users.
The 37-page report, available on the EM Radiation Research Trust website, summarised what it said are the dangers of mobile phone use, and attempted to blunt an upcoming study being developed by the wireless industry in 13 countries, mainly in western Europe.
"Some countries are already banning mobile phones over health concerns, with France saying children in elementary schools can only use them for texting," said the report's author, Lloyd Morgan.
"Mobile phones can be used appropriately and have a certain usefulness, but I fear we will see a tsunami of brain tumors, although it is too early to see that now since the tumours have a 30-year latency," he added. "I pray I m wrong, but brace yourself."
However, John Walls, vice president of public affairs for the CTIA, a group representing wireless carriers and handset makers in the US, issued a statement today saying "peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose a public health risk." He noted that the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the World Health Organisation and the US Food and Drug Administration have all concurred that wireless devices are not a public health risk.
Morgan, a retired electronics engineer and a member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, wrote the report, Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern , with the endorsement of 43 scientists and experts from the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. Groups endorsing the findings include the EMR Policy Institute, the Peoples Initiative Foundation, ElectromagneticHealth.org, The Radiation Research Trust and Powerwatch.
A copy of the report and a short video are available at http://www.RadiationResearch.org.
Morgan said the most damning research linking mobile phone usage to brain tumuors was noted in a study published in May 2009 in the International Journal of Oncology by a Swedish team of scientists led by Professor Lennart Hardell. It noted that digital mobile phone and cordless phone use by users who started when they were teenagers or younger led to a 420 percent increased risk of brain cancer. Hardell had earlier suggested that analogue mobile phones caused a 700 percent greater risk of cancer, although today's digital phones lessen the power requirements and reduce the risk.
The higher cancer risk comes from holding a mobile phone close to the head over longer periods of time, the Collaborative study said, and recommends eight steps for reducing exposure to mobile phone radiation for adults and children.
The steps include using a wired headset on a call, not a wireless headset, or sending messages by texting. Also, the study recommends keeping the mobile phone away from your body, including in pockets, and avoiding use in a moving vehicle, since that tends to increase the power and the radiation required as the device moves farther from a mobile tower.
The study also recommends using the mobile phone like an answering machine, keeping it off until the user is ready to return calls. Avoiding use inside a building will reduce the power and radiation needed, the study said. It also urged using a corded, landline phone whenever possible.
The study further recommended that children not be allowed to sleep with a mobile phone under a pillow and cautioned parents not to allow a child under 18 to use a mobile phone except in an emergency.
A significant point of the collaborative study details 11 flaws in the upcoming Interphone study, which is due out this fall from major carriers in 13 countries, not including the US.
The flaws of that Interphone study, based on components already published, include that it eliminates subjects who use portable phones, even though those devices also emit microwave radiation as mobile phones do. The group said the Interphone study also excluded many types of brain tumours from study and eliminated subjects who died or were too ill be interviewed. The Interphone study also does not include children and young adults, who are more vulnerable, it said.
