How Cell Phones Can Cause Cancer for Users - Research Paper Example

Cell phones are examples of gadgets that emit radiofrequency energy. This paper, in effect, explains how cell phones cause cancer to their users. Radiofrequency Radiation and Cell Phone Use Radiofrequency (RF) is a type of electrical energy found between 300 kilohertz (KHz) and 1 megahertz (MHz) frequency ranges. Weinberg (p. 17) observes that “…RF penetrates human body and is absorbed by deep body organs without feeling of any heat sensation.” Weinberg (p. 17) deduces that it this property of radiofrequency energy that makes cell phones harmful to their users.

The gadgets play a major role in development of brain cancers because the antenna which absorbs and emits signals transmits the same radiation to the brain of a user. Several studies confirm a strong correlation between use of cell phones and brain cancer. (Schuz et al.1707). Causes of neck cancer and cancers of various nerves in the head have also been attributed to cell phone use. Mechanism used by microwave ovens to heat food is analogous to how RF energy emitted by cell phones behaves. However, heat produced by RF exposure from cell phones is not sufficient enough to significantly increase body temperature.

Muscat et al. (p. 3001) explains that using a cell phone while holding it on one side of the head affects brain tissues close to antennae of the phone. Radiofrequency energy emitted from the cell phone increases glycolytic process (breakdown of glucose to pyruvate with release of energy) in these tissues. Slight increase in temperature in these tissues triggers faster metabolism of glucose than in tissues opposite to antennae of the cell phone. Uneven rate of glycolysis in the brain results to imbalance energy distribution in brain tissues.

Unequal distribution of energy in the brain promotes unequal cell growth in brain tissues resulting to uncontrolled and imbalanced cell division and growth of brain tissues. Brain tumors are products of uncontrolled cell growth and division of cells in the brain tissues. The tumors grow rapidly and form enlarged cell masses than surrounding cells. Surplus energy on one side of the head can, thus, cause brain tumors on one side of the brain. RF radiations produce malignant tumors. The tumors are non-encapsulated cells that grow quickly and readily metastasize into surrounding cells.

Metastasis is the ability of a tumor cell to break from the tumor and freely enter the bloodstream (Larjavaara et al. 4). Tumor cells can, therefore, travel to other parts of the body and begin to rapidly divide and grow. More often, malignant tumor cells are characterized by anaplasia, a condition in which a cell loses its distinctive features. Larjavaara et al. (p. 10) concludes that cancer is a result of cell reversion. Consequently, cell phone users not only expose themselves to brain cancer, but also increase their chances of developing cancer of other body organs.

According to Larjavaara et al. (p. 2), common brain cancers caused by radiations emitted from cell phones include glioma and neuroma brain cancers. Glioma is a spinal cord or a brain tumor made up of neuroglia, a connective tissue of the nervous system. Glioma tumors arise from abnormal glial cells in the brain. Immediate symptoms of gliomas, which are not as deadly as glioma cancer, include nausea, vomiting, headaches, and cranial nerve disorders among others. Neuroma brain cancer, on the other hand, is a cancerous tumor that