Is It Okay to Put Your Cellphone In Your Bra? Breast Cancer Awareness, What You Need To Know
Doing everything we can to protect our breasts starts with awareness.
And, The National Breast Cancer Foundation has a Symptoms Guide that they will send you for free when you give them your email. It's definitely got some good information, including reminders and how-to's on self care.
The Foundation's site also lists a whole bunch of myths about the causes of breast cancer. I thought I might see wireless energy or EMF or RF radiation in this myth section. I didn't. But I did see the myth: Mammograms Cause Cancer to Spread with an explanation that the benefits of a mammogram outweigh the risk of spreading or causing cancer.
Personally, I Don't Agree.
Every year, since my first(and only) mammogram revealed I had "dense" breast tissue and needed an ultrasound too. I've opted for only ultrasounds. Honestly, I don't know what I would do if I found a lump or an ultrasound showed something suspicious, and I was advised to follow up with a mammogram. But for certain, they will never be my primary go to or an annual preventative. I avoid radiation as much as possible.
Love the Girls
I take care of my breasts, do the self-exams, I use an organic natural antiperspirant. The doctors I see advised me a long time ago that chemicals in some deodorants mess with my endocrine receptors and my body's well being in general. And, are totally not worth the risk.
I also know without a doubt that wireless EMF messes with my body.
Being EMF sensitive for 25 years. I believe and highly recommend the Precautionary Principle when it comes to the invisible wireless energy spewing from our devices. I have a Tech Wellness Wireless and Health Guide with all the details, but the point is, the energy has been proven without a doubt to have a biological effect. Think of it like smog or a chemical pollutant or toxin, if you could avoid being exposed to it, wouldn't you?
Would you sleep next to a device that was spewing diesel fumes, DDT or herbicides?
Yeah. Not so much. Well those are a few of the other compounds the World Health Organization has deemed "possibly carcinogenic to humans." RF electromagnetic fields aka wireless energy from your cellphone is also deemed a World Health Orgnaization Class 2B carcinogen.
So . . .
Please note ladies--and men (the NBCA also pointed out the breast cancer in men is not a myth) that when the phone touches you--even when it's in your bra, your sports bra or your pocket--with just a thin layer between you and the radiation from the phone--that you're being exposed to 3 to 4 times more than government recommended levels of radiation. As Devra Davis points out in her presentation to the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Association.
It's True.
That's why I made a video pointing out that we should use a stylus instead of our fingers when we use the phone.
I read my Apple Manual(yeah, I do things like that) and discovered it said that when the phone was tested to pass government SAR standards, they did the tests 5mm away from the phone. Say what?
Yeah, the video has a shot of the Apple Manual for my iPhone 6(the video was created a few years back ) and I took out a little ruler to demonstrate how big of space that actually is. Look at your phones manual--it's usually in the phone's settings now. Check under Legal or RF radiation, you'll see the same thing. SAR levels are taken 5mm to sometimes 20mm away from the "test body."
I have the iPhone 11 in late 2023. Apple still recommends keeping it 5mm away-Check the end of the first sentence from the manual:
"iPhone 11 Pro Max RF Exposure Information"
(Comments in parenthesis are mine: To understand RF exposure and how it's measured, you need to understand SAR). "Specific Absorption Rate. (SAR) refers to the rate at which the body absorbs RF energy, which is measured by the heat that the RF creates in the body. The SAR limit is 1.6 watts per kilogram in countries that set the limit averaged over 1 gram of tissue and 2.0 watts per kilogram in countries that set the limit averaged over 10 grams of tissue." (I realize it's complicated, but just think of it in relative terms--the higher the SAR rating, the more heat/EMF you're absorbing.)
(QUICK SIDE NOTE: SAR is actually a very outdated way of looking at EMF exposure. It was developed in the 90's, when we knew so much less about the biological effects of EMF than we know today. Today we understand that EMF disrupts our biology at a cellular level and can even damage our DNA. And yet, all over the world, everyone still uses this heat measurement. Our friends at the Environmental Health Trust have actually sued the FCC to revise this ancient standard to better mirror what we know today. So far, even though it's taken years like everything the cellular industry fights, the EHT is winning. It's fascinating and you can learn more about the effort here.)
(Now back to the Apple Manual, which does use SAR since it remains the worldwide standard.) "During testing, iPhone radios are set to their highest transmission levels and placed in positions that simulate using it held up against your head, with no separation, and when worn or carried against the torso of the body, with 5mm separation.
(Here's Apples official advice on what to do about EMF:) "To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free option, such as the built-in speakerphone, the supplied headphones, or other similar accessories. Cases with metal parts may change the RF performance of the device, including its compliance with RF exposure guidelines, in a manner that has not been tested or certified."
In Case You Need More Reasons To NEVER, EVER Stash Your Smartphone In Your Bra: Research on EMF and Its Connection To Breast Cancer.
Women exposed to environmental magnetic energy had a 58% increased rate of breast cancer over women who were not exposed to the energy. A decades old study of a different type of EMF, magnetic or ELF- extremely low frequency radiation was done and the results are extremely compelling. The women lived under high tension power lines and the study took place over 10 years.
BUT please note they were not analyzing the type of EMF that powers our cellphones--specifically Wireless electromagnetic fields( 200 Mhz-8ghz)
HOWEVER, the type of EMF they studied IS emitted by your cellphone.
It's Magnetic EMF. Appliances, Electric Blankets, things with a power source can and do expose us to magnetic EMF. That includes cellphones and laptops.
This study was done on women exposed to high levels of this magnetic energy- not RF energy. I've used my meters and seen that there's a good deal of ELF magnetic energy coming right from the screen of my devices. Larry Gust explained that it's result of the electronics used to create screen brightness. When the brightness is dimmed, the ELF levels decrease. They also decrease a lot as you move away from the screen, which is why I use and LOVE my stylus and why I don't put my phone in my bra or my pocket and carry it via a leash.
A newer, but later retracted study from 2020 published strong conclusions after doing a meta-analysis. A meta-analysis looks at conclusions and methods of other studies and combines the results and makes a new recommendation. This study that looked at 8 other studies has been RETRACTED by the journal it was published in because they included a male breast cancer study and a shift-worker study.
Even so, this part of their conclusion resonates with the magnetic EMF study I just mentioned so I'm including it here: "Pooled estimates revealed that the use of electrical appliances, which emit radio-frequency radiation, such as mobile phones and computers, significantly increased breast cancer development (RR=2.057; 95% CI, 1.272-3.327), while occupational radio-frequency exposure and transmitters did not increase breast cancer development"
The reason the Journal retracted it was this: "Two of the studies were considered to have been based on 50 Hz electromagnetic fields and not on radio-frequency radiation" noted the publishers.
Yes. But remember that this is the Magnetic EMF and it does also come from the electronics that power your phone . . .
but, they went on to point out, "furthermore, one reference used an inaccurate risk estimate for the wrong exposure (shiftwork instead of RF), and one of the studies was focused on male breast cancer (the others all being concerned with female breast cancer)."
I understand why it was retracted, but I took the opportunity to look deeper and the research studies they meta-analyzed do more then whisper caution.
So my phone does not go in my bra.
Or my pocket, or for that matter, hand. If it's on, I carry it in a purse with a strap, or from my phone leash so it typically stays a good 8 inches away from me. When I text or scroll, it's with a stylus.
It may seem sort of severe. But thinking about health and specifically Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it may be a choice you want to consider.
A CASE WITH A STRAP TO CARRY THE PHONE NICELY AWAY FROM YOUR BODY- I designed our Faraday Crossbody to do just that. But I'm for using anything that keeps the phone from touching any part of your body.
Here are some good solutions for keeping the Cellphone EMF Radiation away:
- A purse with straps that you carry
- A case with a wrist strap that you dangle that phone several inches away.
- A Stand for your desk or kitchen counter so you don't have to hold the phone in your hand.
- A Stylus so you don't even have to touch your phone
I first made that video above in 2015 and updated it with new stylus shots a year ago--at the end I say,
"Doctors aren't really sure what the wireless energy is doing to our bodies."
That's Now Changing And A Doctor who IS Sure About What Wireless Energy is Doing To Our Bodies is Dr. John West, founder of the The Breast Care Center and an advisor to Physicians for Safe Technology.
He told me that with all the research that's currently available he urges women and their young teen daughters to exercise the Precautionary Principle:
Devra Davis from the Environmental Health Trust made a long super informative presentation to the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition in September. In this video, among other very interesting learnings, she goes over an MRI study of four women who got cancer directly under where they put their phones--in their bras. There's a link to the study in our Research Section under EMF Health Effects Breast Cancer. Dr. Lisa Bailey who was of the scientists pointed out that the women in the study who had the breast cancer could have been effected from the heating of the tissue.
- Healthy
- No Known Risk for Cancer
- Tested negative for inherited risk factors
- No Family History of Breast Cancer
Dr. Bailey encouraged more studies on the direct connection between cellphones in the bra and breast cancer.
Devra explains that the way electromagnetic fields effect our biology is through the non-ionizing radiation. Unlike ionizing radiation these fields are too weak to break the bonds of DNA directly- but through many research studies, she points out that wireless EMF does damage DNA bonds indirectly. Damage to DNA can lead to out of control cell proliferation- which can result in cancer. Healthy DNA allows our bodies to repair damage from everyday assaults- because our DNA is effected by so many things- even water, so it's important that we do what we can to keep our cells from getting damaged.
Many types of studies on non-ionizing radiation- from those done on cell cultures from humans and animals to those done on the whole animal in standardized studies to those done on humans that have diseases like cancer and are compared to those who have the same age and experiences and we attempt to see if cellphone or wireless usage may be a factor- like the published paper on four women with cancer we linked above.
Finally, Devra comments on how Microwave radiation, blue light at night, and EMF can suppress melatonin and increase cancer risks
Increased Risk of Breast Cancer
Her theory, as a toxicologist is that blue light and RF alters pineal function which decreases melatonin secretion which in turn effects the hypothalamus and the ovaries--which in turn connects to how our hormones are regulated through our reproductive organs and ultimately leads to follicle stimulating hormones--which along with other factors actually increases breast tissue stimulation. This prolonged stimulation can lead to breast cancer, says Davis.
At Tech Wellness, we know about Blue Light
And the importance, for many health reasons, of protecting yourself from digital blue light. You can learn more about how blue light it effects your health here.
And, if you're ready to do something about curbing your blue light exposure--visit our Blue Light Blocking section of the Shop section of Tech Wellness.
Also, if you're looking for a way to carry that cellphone without letting it touch your body, may we suggest the crossbody that I use with the wrist chain that's included? There are two options that come with two chains so the case can dangle about 8 inches off your wrist.
As always, thank you so much for visiting. I love to hear your comments and questions and if there's anything I'm missing, I welcome learning more.
Be Well!
August
