Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk
Do you think that you can avoid cancer by simply leading a healthy lifestyle? If so, think again. A recent report by the President’s Cancer Panel, created in 1971 to address cancer related subjects, claims many carcinogens are in the environment and are virtually impossible to avoid. Without the help of legislation to eliminate these carcinogens from our environment, we are almost helpless to avoid them. We are exposed daily to environmental carcinogens in our homes, businesses, schools and yards. Now that the OFFICIAL report is on Obama’s desk, I’m interested to see what action, if any, he takes to protect us and our families from these toxins.
"For the past 30 years ... there has been systematic effort to minimize the importance of environmental factors in carcinogenesis," said Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
"There has been disproportionate emphasis on lifestyle factors and insufficient attention paid to discovering and controlling environmental exposures," he said. "This report marks a sea change."
After reading the report myself, it appears to me that with the current situation, we simply can not avoid carcinogens. There are a few suggestions on ways to reduce exposure, but many of the items are in things we can’t avoid like food, water, and air. Many of the carcinogens have been found in the placenta and breast milk of women; so you may have even been exposed to carcinogens before you were ever born! Even those of you who shop at Whole Foods or similar stores where they have naturally raised meat animals and pesticide-free fruits and vegetables, and even if you don’t smoke ,or drink alcohol, and use environmentally safe paint in your homes, you may still be exposed to carcinogens daily.
The only solution to the problem, is for the government to enact legislation to eliminate the cancer causing chemicals from our environment, stores, and homes. Even then, as was seen with DDT, the chemicals will still remain in the environment for many years. DDT was banned in 1973 and is still being found in the breasts, breast milk and placentas of women. With data like that, it sounds like the earlier we start the better…
However, nanomaterials can be extremely toxic, and despite their promise, concern is growing about their potential health and environmental risks. Most ENMs are engineered at dimensions of 1 to 100 nanometers (nm), or 1 to 100 billionth of a meter. The width of a human hair is 80,000 nm.
Because of their structure and small size, they can be inhaled, ingested,
and absorbed through the skin, entering the blood stream, penetrating cells throughout the body (including the brain), and perhaps interfering with DNA processes.
Until then, in addition to the current list of things recommended by cancer foundations like the American Cancer Society have listed to avoid, here is a list of what you’ll need to add to completely eliminate your risk of cancer:
- being born (mother may pass gene defects or carcinogens to an unborn child)
- drinking breast milk or cow’s milk (either may contain carcinogens due to ingesting water and food laced with carcinogens)
- drinking water (from ground, tap or bottle – plastic bottles may have BP and phthalate in the plastic which can seep into the water)
- eating meat (even organic meat can have carcinogens from animals who consume pesticide run off)
- eating fruits and vegetables (fresh ones may have pesticides, even pesticide-free ones may have been watered with water that has been contaminated with pesticide run off or chemicals from manufacturing, canned goods have a lining that contains BP…)
- breathing (it was brought up in the report that many of the nano technology used in hundreds of consumer products including cosmetics, sunscreens, other personal care products, stain-resistant clothing, food storage containers, computers and other electronics, may be inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin interfering with DNA processes.)
Depressing isn’t? Maybe it’s time for us all to write our senators and get something done. The smokers may not be the main cause as many had thought, but rather the greedy manufacturers who are lining their pockets using carcinogenic materials, sloppy disposal procedures, and our children’s future health!
