Breast Cancer in Women Under 50 on the Rise — Could Cellphones Play a Role?

Recent studies show breast cancer is the most common cancer in women under 50, fueling longstanding concerns about a possible link between devices like cellphones and cancer.

Breast Cancer in Women Under 50 on the Rise — Could Cellphones Play a Role?

By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., childrenshealthdefense.org, 6 Sep 2023

Early-onset breast cancer is on the rise in younger women in the U.S., according to two new peer-reviewed studies, leading some experts to wonder if cellphone use could be at least partially to blame.

The authors of an Aug. 16 study in JAMA Network Open looked at the health data from 2010 to 2019 of more than half a million people in the U.S. under 50 who reported having some kind of early-onset cancer.

They concluded breast cancer in 2019 had the highest incidence rate, with 12,649 new cases reported that year.

Meanwhile, the authors of a study published Sept. 5 in BMJ Oncology looked at worldwide cancer trends from 1990-2019. Breast cancer was responsible for the largest number of cases and associated deaths among younger people, with rates of 13.7 cases and 3.5 deaths per 100,000 people, they said.

Smartphones Increase the Risk of Breast Cancer

Smartphones increase the risk of breast cancer
Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation, 5 Jan. 2021 - translation

A new study shows women who use smartphones are at higher risk of breast cancer. Cell phone-addicted women who use their phones before bedtime have almost seven times the risk. Those who store smartphones near their chest or waist run four to five times higher risk of breast cancer than those who keep their phones under their waistline.

On January 2, 2021, researchers at the Medical University in Taipei, Taiwan, published the first study to date that examined the relationship between breast cancer and the use of so-called smartphones. The study is a case-control study that included 211 women who experienced breast cancer during 2017-2018 and 894 healthy checks and whose use of so-called smartphones has been compared.

The results show that the women who used the mobile phone a lot (defined in the study as “mobile phone addiction”) had a 1.43 times increased risk of breast cancer compared to women who were judged not to be mobile phone addicted. Those who usually kept the mobile phone close to the chest or waist had between 5.03 and 4.06 times increased risk, respectively. The researchers found a significant association between the distance to the breasts when using a mobile phone and the risk of breast cancer. Similarly, the risk was increased 5.27 times for the women who used the mobile phone more than 4.5 minutes before going to bed.

New Review Study Finds Cell Phone Radiation Increases Breast Cancer Risk

New Review Study finds that Radiofrequency Radiation from Cellphones and Computers Increases Breast Cancer Risk
Environmental Health Trust, December 5, 2020

A systematic review and meta-analysis supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology investigated the association between exposure to radiofrequency radiation and the risk of breast cancer and found a significant association between radiofrequency radiation exposure and breast cancer risk.

The study ” Exposure to radiofrequency radiation increases the risk of breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis” published in the journal Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine performed a quantitative analysis and is what the authors state is “the first meta-analysis” aiming to evaluate and obtain more precise and comprehensive estimates of the association between radiofrequency radiation exposure and the risk of breast cancer.

“It was concluded that radiofrequency radiation exposure significantly increased the risk of breast cancer, especially in women aged ≥50 years and in individuals who used electric appliances, such as mobile phones and computers.” While breast cancer risk doubled for women ≥50 yrs old, no significant increase was seen among younger women, nor among those occupational exposed or those living near RF transmitters.

United States: Cancer Survivors Await Outcome of Cell-Phone Warnings Lawsuit

Cancer Survivors Await Outcome of Cell-Phone Warnings Lawsuit
publicnewsservice.org, 21 August 2020

(Also listen to the short podcast in the article.)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Cancer survivors are speaking out as they await the outcome of several lawsuits concerning radiation and cell phones.

(Photo): Courtney Kelley has successfully fought breast cancer twice, near where she says she used to carry her cell phone. (Courtney Kelley) August 21, 2020

The suits challenge the Federal Communication Commission's radiation guidelines, the radio-frequency or 'RF' levels from cell phones, and safety notices required by the City of Berkeley.

Courtney Kelley, a young mother who has beaten back breast cancer twice, said she used to keep her phone tucked into her bra - but not anymore.

Prof. Anthony Miller: RF Radiation, Evidence on Cancer, Justification for New IARC Review

Prof. Anthony Miller: RF Radiation, Evidence on Cancer, Justification for New IARC Review
 (given on 5 November 2018 at London PHIRE Conference, 18 min.)

Excellent presentation by Prof. Anthony Miller on the latest brain tumor-RF radiation studies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz7hAivb_tI&fbclid=IwAR377hsi0T6jetx6MuZ71oi4__xZvvujck5-ZhWKu5XYuGdohLI1FGjc7nQ

Cell Phones and Breast Cancer

Cell Phones And Breast Cancer
Environmental Health Trust

Is there a link between cell phone placement and breast cancer? What you Need to Know:

1. Cellphones are two-way microwave radios that should not be kept directly on the body.
2. The soft fatty tissue of the breast readily absorbs this radiation.
3. Case Reports are accumulating of young women with no family history getting a diagnosis of breast cancer. The tumors were unusually located directly underneath the skin where they placed their cell phones in their bra.
4. Doctors voice this precautionary advice: Women should not store their cell phones in their bra.

Click on the images below to view a Powerpoint Presentation on Tiffany Frantz and her struggle with breast cancer after storing the cell phone in her bra for 5 years and to read an open Letter from Traci Frantz. She hopes that you will read her letter at a Council meeting to raise awareness of this issue.

[See original article.]

Published Research on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risks:

Breast Against Cell Phone: Danger

RE-POSTED 15 October 2018

Breast Against Cell Phone:  Danger

by Meris Michaels, Tribune de Genève - Letter to the Editor, 

19-20 October 2013

(Choice of image by Editor, "Towards Better Health")

Breast cancer in young women is increasing in Geneva.  This trend has been confirmed by studies in other parts of Europe.   Could one of the reasons be the habit of young women of keeping their cell phone tucked in their bra?  The makers of cell phones warn users to avoid direct contact with the skin.  The manual of Apple, for example, advises keeping one’s iPhone at a distance of 5/8 of an inch from the body, since these devices emit electromagnetic radiation, classified as a possible human carcinogen by the World Health Organization.  In the United States, doctors are seeing more and more breast cancer in women aged 21 to 39, who have no genetic predisposition to cancer but who, for several years, have been carrying their cell phone in their bra for part of the day.  These tumors are sometimes aggressive and, in spite of a mastectomy, the cancer metastasizes.  Keeping a cell phone in the bra is more common than one would think among young women:  during jogging, driving a car, hiding it at school and at work… Raising awareness of young women of the risks of this practice must now be a part of campaigns for the prevention of breast cancer.

(Note:  About 10 days ago, we sent to the Geneva English-Speaking Cancer Association a copy of Dr. Devra Davis's (President, Environmental Health Trust) recent Webinar presentation to the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition on the latest research and information on the health effects of cell phone radiation as our contribution to breast cancer awareness.  No response has yet been received.)

Dr. Davis's Webinar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYTXDN3JXY8

The Health Impact of Cell Phone Radiation - What We Know Now

This excellent one-hour presentation in English by Dr. Devra Davis on The Health Impact of Cell Phone Radiation - What We Know Now - was given on 26 September 2018 via a Webinar. Please view and share widely.

The Health Impact of Cell Phone Radiation - What We Know Now 

(26 September 2018 - 60 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYTXDN3JXY8

Why You Need to Stop Carrying Your Mobile Phone in Your Pocket or Bra

RE-POSTED 15 July 2018:  Why do such warnings get so little attention?  The authorities which are supposed to protect our health and industry are doing a great job hiding the truth about the risks of wireless radiation.  We, as adults, must do our own research and take precautionary measures to limit exposure, and especially, protect our children who are much more vulnerable to microwave radiation.

Why You Need to Stop Carrying Your Mobile Phone in Your Pocket or Bra
by Tony Isaacs, thetruthaboutcancer.com

If you’re a man and you carry your mobile phone in your pants pocket, or a woman who tucks her phone into her bra or bra strap… chances are you aren’t aware of the damage this practice may be causing. You’re not going to hear about it from the cell phone companies who are resisting mounting evidence about the dangers of mobile phone radiation.

Read on for some of the major areas of health concerns (including cancer!) and what cell phone studies have uncovered thus far…

Cell Phones and Infertility/Decreased Sperm Counts

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Breast Cancer Cluster

As you may recall, (ABC) Australian Broadcasting Corporation's  "Catalyst" staff were fired last year and the weekly TV show format was scrapped over the report, "Wi-Fried".  

See our post (the link to the original article disappeared.)

(Most of the content of the article is posted below as the link to the original also does not seem to work.)
ABC cancer cluster: 10 years since Toowong studio shut down
by Susan Johnson, The Courier-Mail, 5 May  2016

Jo Stone, Nadia Farha, Anne Debert and Lisa Backhouse
Picture:  David Kelly

On a hot afternoon before Christmas, a group of workers were asked to clear their desks – immediately – and leave the building many of them had worked in for their entire careers. Everyone was given a cardboard box and told to take everything they needed, because there would be no going back inside the building. Ever.

There was an audible gasp at the news. Some women started crying. As if trapped in a story in which an iron door clangs loudly as it closes, the workers left the building. There were Christmas decorations still hanging over doorways, strung across desks, and a shocked sense of disbelief.

Many of the workers, specifically the women, felt scared, others were just angry. It had taken years – precisely 12 since the first of a dozen women was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994 – for management to recognise that the building on the banks of the Brisbane River at Toowong, in Brisbane’s western suburbs, was unsafe.

Australian Research Asks If Women Keep Smartphones in the Bra

Australian Research Asks If Women Keep Smartphones In The Bra
Environmental Health Trust

Bra, Pocket or Purse? Australian Research Asks Where Women Keep Their Smartphones

New study finds women carry smartphones in bra despite manufacturer’s radiation warnings.

A new Australian study that will inform cancer research has found that 25 per cent of women have carried their smartphone tucked into their bra, with 15 per cent having done so in the last week. This is despite phone manufacturers warning customers not to store smartphones against the body or in clothing.

The Monash study was published in the scientific research journal PLOS One and is freely accessible at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0167996

My Daughter's Story of Cell Phone Breast Cancer

Tiffany Frantz

Tiffany was only 21 when she was diagnosed with an unusual breast cancer directly under the place she carried her phone in her bra. She did not know that the manual stated she should keep the phone at a distance from her body.

Download her Powerpoint Presentation HERE.

My Daughter's Story of Cell Phone Breast Cancer
by Traci Frantz

An Open Letter

My name is Traci Frantz and I live in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. On January 4, 2012 my daughter, Tiffany, was diagnosed (in Lancaster, PA) with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in her left breast. Tiffany submitted to genetic testing and, as a family, we underwent genetic counseling. Genetic tests including BRCA1, BRCA2 and TP53 tested negative. Therefore, there is no genetic pre-disposition to breast cancer. However, Tiffany stored her cell phone in her bra (against her bare skin) for at least 5 years, every day, all day (12 hours/day) and the masses that were found lined up exactly with where she stored her cell phone.

"Cell Phone Radiation and Breast Cancer - A Reivew of the Evidence" - Slide Presentation by Dr. Devra Davis

In March 2015, Dr. Devra Davis delivered a presentation on "Cell Phone Radiation and Breast Cancer - A Review of the Evidence" during the Spring Symposium organized by the group, Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert JALBCA).  

Click here for the slide presentation.

Read more about JALBCA:

OUR STORY

JALBCA was founded by a small group of judges and lawyers who were all personally affected by breast cancer, either as survivors themselves or as family or close friends. We realized that together we could make a difference in the legal community and resolved to take action. Our first target was to increase awareness about the importance of early detection and treatment. We also began to raise money to provide critically needed services to the legal community and beyond.

Cell Phones and Breast Cancer

(Choice of image by Editor of "Towards Better Health")

Cell phones and breast cancer
by Leonardo L. Leonidas - @inquirerdotnet, Commentary,
4 January 2017

When a woman younger than 40 gets breast cancer, researchers swing into action to know why such an uncommon event happened. The commonly accepted scientific thinking for this to occur is when the woman inherited a gene for breast cancer. Another way may possibly be through exposure to radiation energy coming from a cell phone placed near the breast.

Case Report in Medicine (volume 2013) featured four young women found to have multifocal breast cancer. All of them did not have breast cancer genes. All were younger than 40 and had a years-old habit of keeping their cell phone in their bra.

Thermography: The Safer, More Effective Alternative to Mammograms

"Breast thermography is the name given to thermography when it is used to screen for signs of breast cancer, as well as for determining the overall health of the breast. Unlike mammograms, breast thermography is 100% safe, and is far more accurate in detecting signs of breast cancer than mammograms are... since 1982 breast thermography has also been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."

Thermography:  The Safer, More Effective Alternative to Mammograms
burtongoldberg.com

Part of my mission in helping you to understand all you can and must do to most effectively prevent and treat cancer is emphasizing early detection. Simply put, the earlier cancer is detected, the better the odds are for a full and long-lasting recovery.

Today, I want to talk about one of the most effective ways women can detect breast cancer, as well as other types of cancer, early and safely using thermography. As I mentioned last time, thermography is a safe and effective alternative to mammograms. Today I will explain why this is so and why you absolutely must know about thermography in your fight to protect yourself from cancer.

What Is Thermography?

Cell Phones and Breast Cancer - Bras: The No Phone Zone

Dr. June Chen, a Los Angeles radiologist, was diagnosing more and more of her young patients with cancer.  "It's very unusual for women in their 20s and 30s to have breast cancer, period, let alone such extensive breast cancer, and these women are vehemently telling us that they wore their cell phones over the area, directly over the area, where they subsequently developed this extensive breast cancer, and they're telling us they wore these on a routine and regular basis." 

Cell phones & breast cancer - bras:  the no phone zone
thescienceofeating.com, 15 February 2015

The talk about cell phones and cancer connection has been discussed for years now, but most still wonder if there's a real association and concern. One possibility does appear to exist, at least among certain women, and it all depends on where they carry their cell phone.

Thousands, of not millions of women - especially young ones, choose to keep their cell phones in their bra. This seems like the most convenient solution, because it allows women to ditch their purse and become hands-free.

Causing more need for storage is the fact that many womens' clothes come without pockets, so if you don't have a purse, the bra is an obvious choice. Also in noisy environments, it's harder to hear cell phone ring tones, so women like placing their cell phones on vibrate mode and placing it in their bras to continue receiving calls.

A recent survey reveals 40% of college females put their cell phone in their bra at least some time during the day, and 3% report doing it for more than 10 hours a day. However, Dr. John West, a Los Angeles breast surgeon, said women need to stop this practice stating, "We must make the bra a no phone zone," he said.

Book Review: "No Family History" by Sabrina McCormick

Re-posted on 1st November 2015:  The book discusses the environmental links to breast cancer, with a personal testimony from a resident of Long Island, New York State, which has the second highest breast cancer rate in the United States.  The book is also an excellent resource for advocacy.

[For years, I have been living my life between Long Island and Geneva, Switzerland, which also has a very high rate of breast cancer.  I was treated for breast cancer in 2004.  The latest statistics from Switzerland are alarming:  one in 10 women diagnosed with breast cancer is under age 40.  The prognosis is less favorable for young women.]

“NO FAMILY HISTORY” by Sabrina McCormick (2009) (www.nofamilyhistory.org).

The author discusses the environmental links to breast cancer, focusing on Long Island in New York State, which has the second highest breast cancer rate in the United States after Marin County in California. She says we must rethink advocacy which is currently concerned with detection, treatment, research and support groups. Associations advocate better treatment options for women and raise more awareness about the disease. In fact, these actions generate more profits for the pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries instead of focusing on prevention.

For instance, AstraZeneca, a producer of drugs for chemo and hormonal therapies, created the National Cancer Awareness Month. As is often the case with these corporations, there is a conflict of interest, since on the one hand, they are helping to raise money for research through organizing “pink” events to generate awareness of breast cancer, while on the other, polluting the environment with very toxic chemicals which cause cancer. AstraZeneca, formerly the Imperial Chemical Industries, used to manufacture personal care products and food ingredients which have been found to be harmful to health.

Lower Doses of Common Product Ingredient Might Increase Breast Cancer Risk

(Image selected by the Editor of "Towards Better Health")

Lower doses of common product ingredient might increase breast cancer risk
Silent Spring Institute, Public Release:  

27 October 2015

Safety tests may be underestimating chemicals' potency

Estrogen-mimicking chemicals called parabens, which are commonly found in an array of personal care products, may be more dangerous at lower doses than previously thought, according to a new study. The findings, published online October 27 in Environmental Health Perspectives, could have implications for the development of breast cancer and other diseases that are influenced by estrogens. The study also raises questions about current safety testing methods that may not predict the true potency of parabens and their effects on human health.

Parabens are a class of preservatives widely-used in consumer products like shampoos, cosmetics, body lotions, and sunscreens. The chemicals are considered estrogenic because they activate the same estrogen receptor as the natural hormone estradiol. Studies have linked exposure to estradiol and related estrogens with an increased risk of breast cancer, as well as reproductive problems. As a result, the use of parabens in consumer products increasingly has become a public health concern.

Wireless Breast Cancer Detection Device to Launch in India and the US

Following this article, we have posted the Abstract of the first clinical study evaluating this technology, published in 2013.

Wireless Breast Cancer Detection Device to Launch in India and the US
Press Trust of India, 10 June 2015

A wireless handheld device which will enable any health care worker to conduct a breast cancer examination within five minutes and access the results on a smartphone or tablet would be launched next month in the US and India, a top US official has said.

The device is the outcome of US Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration investment of $1 million in a proof-of concept centre to bring life-sciences research to the market, US Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzeker told the students of Columbia University on Tuesday.

"Scientists at Drexel University, working with the centre, developed a hand-held, wireless breast cancer scanner, called the iBreast Exam. This device will enable any doctor or health care worker to conduct an exam within five minutes, and then access the results on a smartphone or tablet," Pritzeker said in her address to the 'Future of Urban Innovation Summit' in New York.

Cell Phones & Breast Cancer - Bras: The No Phone Zone

In a recent ehealth radio network interview, "The growing concern of cellphone and Wi-Fi radiation", Dr. Devra Davis mentioned that Dr. John West, breast surgeon, shared with her that "there are more than 38 cases of young women with unusually located tumors where they've kept cell phones in their bras."  Dr. West is seeing more breast cancer in young women than he’s ever seen in his 40 years of practice. Although the average age at diagnosis of breast cancer is over 60 years, about 13,000 women younger than 40 years are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the U.S.

Cell Phones & Breast Cancer - Bras:  The No Phone Zone

by Stephanie, thescienceofeating.com, 15 February 2015

The talk about cell phones and cancer connection has been discussed for years now, but most still wonder if there’s a real association and concern. One possibility does appear to exist, at least among certain women, and it all depends on where they carry their cell phone.

Thousands, of not millions of women – especially young ones, choose to keep their cell phones in their bra. This seems like the most convenient solution, because it allows women to ditch their purse and become hands-free.

Causing more need for storage is the fact that many womens’ clothes come without pockets, so if you don’t have a purse, the bra is an obvious choice. Also in noisy environments, it’s harder to hear cell phone ring tones, so women like placing their cell phones on vibrate mode and placing it in their bras to continue receiving calls.

A recent survey reveals 40% of college females put their cell phone in their bra at least some time during the day, and 3% report doing it for more than 10 hours a day. However, Dr. John West, a Los Angeles breast surgeon, said women need to stop this practice stating, “We must make the bra a no phone zone,” he said.

Cell Phone-Shaped Cancer