Let’s face it, cancer does not discriminate. It kills white or black, Asian or Hispanic, male or female. It is just about everywhere you turn if you go by various reports that surface from researchers. There are forms of these so-called carcinogens that many of you could probably recite if someone asked you the question “what things can you think of that cause cancer?". Things such as cigarettes and asbestos instantly come to mind. However, what about the ones that you have never heard of?
The ones you don’t know are the real silent killers. They may be in what you eat or found in your workplace. It is a scary thought, isn’t it? Well there is a report currently released by the American Cancer Society (ACS), which lists the top 20 of these suspected cancer causers that they would like to call in for questioning so they can be interrogated much closer. In this article, we will go through the top 5 offenders on this list and where they can be found.
Styrene – Ah. Styrene Man! If your one of those legion of pot smokers that tell your friends that there is no supposed link between cancer and weed, think again my stoned amigos. Styrene, and its chemical compound colleague styrene-7,-8-oxide, has showed enough evidence when studied with its effect on animal subjects to make it a person of interest and thus a member of the top 5 of this list. Though only a small percentage has been linked to cancer in humans, it does not seem like the risk to take. Not only is it an ingredient in cigarettes and marijuana, but scary thought is it is found in foam food packaging. Evidently its almost impossible to avoid. When the CDC did testing on study participants last year, a whopping 87 percent had it in their urine. Yikes!
Tetrachloroethylene – It has some other names, like PCE or PERC, but anyway you spell it, it is bad news. Where is this member of the top 5 found? It can be found in anything from heavy industry to your dry cleaning! Get these frightening realities. In medical testing on rats, it has already been determined that it causes liver cancer and leukemia. Other studies have it tied to esophageal and cervical cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Its found in the dry cleaners and metal finishing plants, but a scary thought for hunters is that its also used in taxidermy places too. Hmm, time to clean out the den!
Titanium Dioxide - One only has to look at the places and objects this appears to have contact with to know that this one needs a lot of study. It is found in any number of manufacturing plants where it can be breathed in by the working population, but the scare doesn’t end there. It is also an ingredient in cosmetics, paints, varnishes, lacquers, paper, plastics, ceramics, rubber or printing ink. Think you might come in contact with those? Again, the animals in the labs are susceptible to it, so perhaps its time to look towards organic makeup ladies!
Diesel Exhaust – Not much we can do about this one besides move to some ubersociety where cars are not allowed. Perhaps some return back to country life old time style. Those nasty fumes that have stalked us for years have been tied to cases of lung cancer for years in relation to lab animals and some evaluations of truck drivers. However it's hard to narrow it down with all the other crap its mixes in the air with.
Shift Work – Now I know there are people that are looking at this one and saying, “what”? Well it seems to be true and thus makes it the only non-tangible to make the top 20. Would you believe that shift work has actually been tied to cancer in a series of studies, though the medical community cannot yet put a definitive connection on it. So where does this theory come from? Scientists believe that when humans are exposed to light during periods of darkness that is throws off our biological circadian rhythms. This in turn is believed to be probably carcinogenic to humans says a study on the subject.
Surely you agree that this list is scary indeed. That sad reality is that even if science is able to study these things better and find a definitive link between them and cancer, what are we going to do about it. These things are part of our society and way of life. It will make for some soul searching questions down the road.
Some information and statistics courtesy of: http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/top-5-susp ected-everyday-carcinogens-in-american-cancer-societ ys-scary-new-report/19556272?icid=main|htmlws-main-n |dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fsurge-desk %2Farticle%2Ftop-5-suspected-everyday-carcinogens-in -american-cancer-societys-scary-new-report%2F1955627 2