Health Info - Mobile Phone and Brain Tumour
Dr Charlie Teo, from Australia's Channel 7's Last Chance Surgery, says it's better to avoid
electro-magnetic radiation
· Surgeon
warns of electromagnetic radiation
· Takes
'prevention better than cure' approach
· Global study: Mobile cancer link <http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,26259871-5014239,00.html>
· Mobiles: How much radiation is there? <http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,26202910-5014239,00.html>
BRAIN
cancer surgeon Charlie Teo has urged people to put mobile phones on loudspeaker,
move clock radios to the foot of the bed and wait
until microwaves have finished beeping before opening
them..
The controversial Sydney specialist told a
Melbourne
fundraiser that although the jury was still out on mobile phones and
other forms of electromagnetic radiation, we should not take risks.
"Even though the jury's not in, just to err on the side of safety I
would try and limit the amount of electromagnetic radiation that you're
exposed to," he said.
"The American government, for example, recommend that all electrical appliances should
be put at the foot of the bed and not the head of the bed.
"Electric
blankets should be turned off before you get in bed and
definitely wait for those five beeps before you open the microwave.
"With the mobile phone I encourage you to put it on
loudspeaker and step outside rather than sticking it up to your
brain."
Dr Teo, who tackles tumours other surgeons deem inoperable, said some hair dyes,
particularly red, could also cause brain cancer in people with a
predisposition.
"The body needs some genetic predisposition. The hair dye, the
mobile phone, they're just catalysts but you probably need some sort of
genetic aberration to get the cancer in the first place," he said.
Fast cancers
Dr Teo, who stars in Channel Seven's Last
Chance Surgery, was in
Melbourne
last week for the Blackwood8 fundraiser at Croydon golf club.
The group was founded by family and friends of Sally White, a patient of
Dr Teo's whose outlook has improved dramatically.
Dr Teo said while breast cancer doubled its cell numbers in weeks or
months, the quickest brain cancers took just 16 hours.
No age group was immune and the incidence of brain tumours was growing.
"It's increasing in frequency both in this country and developing
countries and it used to be ranked out of the top 10 but it's just joined
the top 10 most common cancers," he said.
Recent studies have raised alarm bells about mobile phones.
An unreleased World Health Organisation study reportedly found "a
significantly increased risk" of some brain tumours related to use
of mobile phones for 10 years or more.
A
Suleyman Demirel
University study in
Turkey
also found wearing a mobile phone on your belt may lead to decreased bone
density in an area of the pelvis commonly used for bone grafts.
Dr Teo said there had been some advancements in treating tumours, like
microwave therapy and putting chemotherapy directly into a tumour. A
healthy diet, meditation and positive thought could also be beneficial.
"We believe that they probably boost the immune system," he
said.
Dr Teo's tips to reduce brain
tumour risks
- Get eight hours sleep a night and eat well to boost your immune system
- Keep electrical appliances like clock radios at the foot of the bed
- Turn electric blankets off before retiring
- Put mobile phones on hands-free
- Wait until the microwave finishes beeping before opening it