Over the past year or so an increasing amount of attention has been paid to the relation between cell phones and breast cancer. This issue has primarily arisen from the fact that many women carry their phone in their bra against their skin. Many have heard about the potential danger of holding a phone against their head for long periods of time, but for the most part this warning has been greatly discounted or ignored. The danger stems from the fact that the communication signals from the phone release small amounts of microwave radiation. The danger is minimal for the vast majority of people since our phones are only against our heads for relatively short periods of time. However, when a person keeps their phone against their body, for example in a bra, the radiation from the phone is then in constant contact with the skin and can be absorbed into the body’s soft tissue.
There have been a number of recent cases where relatively young and healthy women were diagnosed with breast cancer. The concerning part about this is what these women had in common. Most lacked the typical breast cancer warning signs such as family history, and they also made a habit of carrying their phone inside their bras. While there are not yet any specific scientific findings directly relating cell phone contact with the breast to breast cancer, the correlation is concerning enough that a number of doctors have spoken out against such placement of a cell phone.
Until there is more concrete scientific evidence cell phone makers are unlikely to acknowledge the danger. They will likely say that a warning about the potential dangers of phone radiation is in the instruction manual that comes with the phone. However this warning is rarely seen as most people do not look through the often lengthy manuals that come with phones.
Those who have been harmed by a product have a right to legal restitution if it can be proved that the product was in some way defective or unreasonably dangerous. More research is needed to determine if there is truly a link between cell phones and breast cancer but if such a link is established it may be possible for those diagnosed with cancer to take legal action against cell phone manufacturers. For now however this should serve as a warning against keeping your phone directly against your skin for long periods of time in order to potentially prevent any health issues in the future.
