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 Subject: Important cell phone news/ Shelly
 Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2008 08:41:54 -0400
 From: takensave@aol.com

 Is Ted Kennedy’s Cancer Linked to Cell Phone Use?

 Wednesday, June 4, 2008 10:00 AM

 By: Sylvia Booth Hubbard Article Font Size


 Senator Ted Kennedy’s diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor is, once
 again, stirring debate over the safety of cell phones. Kennedy’s brain
 tumor, called a glioma, is the type critics have associated for years
 with the use of cell phones.

 Prominent neurosurgeons have stated they do not use cell phones held
 next to their ears. “I use it on the speaker-phone mode,” said Dr. Vini
 Khurana, a prominent researcher and an associate professor of
 neurosurgery at the Australian National University. “I do not hold it
 to my ear.” Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent and a
 neurosurgeon at Emory University Hospital admitted that, he too, used
 an earpiece.

 CTIA – the Wireless Association and the FDA both say that studies show
 cell phones are not a health risk. Other experts disagree. They point
 to research that indicates a link between cell phones and three types
 of tumors: glioma (the type Senator Kennedy has); cancer of a salivary
 gland near the ear called the parotid; and acoustic neuroma, which is a
 tumor found near the ear. An Israeli study published last year found a
 58 percent increase in risk for parotid tumors among people who relied
 heavily on their cell phones. And a Swedish study found the risk for
 glioma and acoustic neuroma doubled after ten years of heavy use.

 Since cell phones are relatively new, there hasn’t been a chance for
 long-term studies that will settle the question of whether there is
 truly a link between cell phone use and brain tumors. Some critics
 express particular concern for children who begin using cell phones as
 kids and continue throughout their lives. “More and more kids are using
 cell phones,” said Dr. Paul Rosch, clinical professor of medicine and
 psychiatry at New York Medical College. “They may be much more
 affected. Their brains are growing rapidly and their skulls are
 thinner.”

 Dr. Khurana admits that cell phones are convenient and can save lives
 in an emergency, but he says that “there is a significant and
 increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and
 certain brain tumors,” adding that malignant brain tumors are “a
 life-ending diagnosis.

 “It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health
 ramifications than asbestos and smoking,” he said.