Radiation Exposure due to Cell Phones
Radiation Exposure Due To Cell Phones Side Effects Could Lead To Brain Cancer Lawsuits
Radiation Exposure Due To Cell Phones | Lawsuits, Lawyers | Side Effects: Glioma, Meningioma, Acoustic Neuroma, Malignant Parotid Gland Tumor (PGT), Anaplastic Astrocytoma, Brain Cancer Tumors | Radiation Exposure, Heavy Cell Phone User
Are you a heavy cell phone user who has been diagnosed with brain cancer? The possibility that cell phones cause cancer, especially a type of brain tumor known as glioma, has been the subject of fierce debate. A major 10-year survey of cell phone use from 13 countries suggested a possible increased risk for glioma - a type of brain tumor - in heavy cell-phone users. Some experts fear that we could start seeing serious health consequences from cell phone use in the coming decades.
Types of cancer assocated with cell phone use:
- Glioma
- Meningioma
- Acoustic Neuroma
- Parotid Gland Tumor (PGT)
- Anaplastic Astrocytoma
Our lawyers are investigating the possibility that cell phones cause cancer. If you believe you or a loved one developed a glioma or other type of brain cancer because of cell phone use, we want to hear from you today. Our cell phone brain cancer lawyers are offering free legal consultations to anyone who believes they are suffering from brain cancer caused by cell phones.
Evidence that Cell Phones Cause Cancer
Scientists and the federal government have been studying the effects of cell phone radiation for years and have established guidelines with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to limit the amount of exposure. Cell phones emit electromagnetic energy, specifically known as radio frequency modulated electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs), and concerns have been raised that exposure to RF-EMFs via cell phones may cause cancer. Though studies are being done to see if there is a link between it and tumors of the brain and central nervous system, so far, findings have been inconclusive, though compelling.
In October 2009, it was revealed that the groundbreaking, $30 million Interphone investigation had found some evidence that cell phones cause cancer. The Interphone study was conducted by the World Health Organization, but funded by the mobile phone industry.
The Interphone project conducted studies in 13 countries, interviewing tumor sufferers and people in good health to see whether their use phone use differed. Interviews were conducted with 12,800 people between 2000 and 2004. In October 2009, a preliminary analysis of the WHO study’s data found a “significantly increased risk” of some brain tumors “related to use of mobile phones for a period of 10 years or more.” These include Meningioma, Acoustic Neuroma, Malignant Parotid Gland Tumor (PGT), Anaplastic Astrocytoma cancers. The population included in the Interphone study included 2,765 glioma, 2,425 meningioma, 1,121 acoustic neuroma, 109 malignant parotid gland tumor cases and 7,658 controls.
Six of eight Interphone studies found some rise in the risk of glioma (the most common brain tumor), with one finding a 39 percent increase. Glioma is a broad category of brain and spinal cord tumors that come from glial cells. Exposure to radiation is the only risk factor for malignant gliomas. In the Interphone study, the heaviest cell phone users who reported using their phones on the same side of their heads had a 40 percent higher risk for gliomas. Given that the heaviest users in the study talked an average of 30 minutes per day on their mobile phones, a figure which is not heavy by today’s standards, the researchers recommended further study. They also suggested that more study was needed to assess the risk of glioma and other cancer in young people, who are among the most intensive cell phone users. Two of seven Interphone studies into acoustic neurinoma (a benign tumor of a nerve between the ear and brain) reported a higher risk after using mobiles for 10 years. A Swedish report said it was 3.9 times higher. An Israeli study found heavy users were about 50 per cent more likely to suffer tumors of the parotid salivary gland.
The Interphone authors did say the study was not definitive, and limited because it depended on subjects’ memories to determine frequency of cell phone use. But the study’s head, Dr Elisabeth Cardis, said she backed new warnings for cell phones based on its findings. “In the absence of definitive results and in the light of a number of studies which, though limited, suggest a possible effect of radiofrequency radiation, precautions are important,” she said. Dr. Cardis said she would back the idea of restricting cell phone use among children, although she thought banning the devices entirely for kids was a bad idea.
In July 2008, the head of one of the top cancer centers in the U.S. warned his staff that cell phones could be dangerous to their health. Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers, issued an internal advisory memo to about 3,000 faculty and staff members advising them to take precautions to avoid the possible cancer risks of cell phones. Herberman justified his drastic action by citing a “growing body of literature linking long-term cell phone use to possible adverse health effects including cancer.” In making this recommendation, Dr. Herberman cited preliminary findings from the Interphone study.
“Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phone use,” Herberman wrote.
In February 2011, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published the first, and the most prominent, study to offer scientific evidence that cell phones affect brain metabolism. The study, conducted by the National Institutes of Health, was conducted between January 1 and December 31, 2009 and included 47 participants. It found that 50-minutes of cell phone use was associated with increased brain glucose metabolism (a marker of brain activity) in the region closest to the phone antenna.
The researchers found that whole-brain metabolism did not differ whether the cell phone was on or off. However, there were significant regional effects. Metabolism in the brain region closest to the antenna (orbitofrontal cortex and temporal pole) was significantly higher (approximately 7 percent) for cell phone on than for cell phone off conditions. "Concern has been raised by the possibility that RF-EMFs emitted by cell phones may induce brain cancer. … Results of this study provide evidence that acute cell phone exposure affects brain metabolic activity. However, these results provide no information as to their relevance regarding potential carcinogenic effects (or lack of such effects) from chronic cell phone use."
"Further studies are needed to assess if these effects could have potential long-term harmful consequences," the authors conclude.
Cell Phone Cancer Warning Legislation
Concerns over cell phone radiation and cancer have prompted calls for health warnings on the devices. In July 2010, the city of San Francisco, California enacted an ordinance requiring retailers to post the radiation levels of cells phones, the first such law in the nation. The ordinance, which was co-sponsored by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and passed the city's Board of Supervisors by a vote of 10-1, requires that stores post the specific absorption rates (SAR) - the levels at which radio frequencies penetrate body tissue of phones – near cell phones in at least 11-point type. According to The New York Times, SAR rates can vary from phone to phone, but all phones sold in the United States must have a SAR rate no greater than 1.6 watts per kilogram.
In March 2010, Andrea Boland, a Democratic State Representative in Maine, introduced a bill in the state legislature, dubbed the "Children's Wireless Protection Act," that would have required radiation warning labels on all cell phones. Boland's proposed law would have required a color graphic of the brain of a child with the word “warning” in large, red lettering. The label would have read: "Warning, this device emits electromagnetic radiation, exposure to which may cause brain cancer. Users, especially children and pregnant women, should keep this device away from the head and body." While the bill was co-sponsored by 13 other Maine state representatives and five senators, it failed in both houses of the state legislature. The bill’s failure, however, has not deterred Boland, who in August 2010, said she planned to reintroduce her cell phone radiation warning bill in the Maine legislature during its 2011 session.
Legal Help for Victims of Cell Phones
We expect that the evidence that cell phones cause cancer will only continue to grow. If you believe cell phones caused your brain cancer, including Meningioma, Acoustic Neuroma, Malignant Parotid Gland Tumor (PGT), Anaplastic Astrocytoma we urge you to contact us today. Please fill out our online form, or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) for your free legal consultation.
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