More than half of the baby products recently tested by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics were found to contain trace levels of formaldehyde and dioxane. Though the study didn’t accuse Johnson & Johnson of dumping barrels of the potential carcinogens directly into their baby products, the dangerous chemicals can form during the manufacturing process as other ingredients break down. The full list of 48 tested baby shampoos, lotions, soaps, and wipes—including some well-known products you probably have on your shelf—inside.
cancer
Consumer Advocate Clark Howard Announces He Has Prostate Cancer
By 2.19.09
The consumer advocate, author, and radio personality Clark Howard told his listeners yesterday that he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Fortunately, it was caught very early, so chances are excellent that it can be removed without complications. Like a true advocate, Howard took advantage of the announcement to urge men over 40 to get regularly screened for prostate cancer.
Study Finds Bisphenol-A Can Enter Your Body Through Non-Food Sources
By 1.28.09
A new study from the University of Rochester shows that bisphenol-A (BPA), a potentially toxic chemical found in many plastics, can enter the body via non-food sources and lingers in the body longer than previously thought.
That Burning From Mouthwash? It's Cancer
By 1.11.09
Great news, kids! Australian researcher Michael McCullough says you should stop using alcoholic mouthwashes like Listerine and Scope because they could give you oral cancer.
Drug Maker Accused Of Paying Ghostwriters To Pen Journal Articles
By 12.12.08
A drug company is accused of paying ghostwriters to write favorable articles about their drugs — even after one drug was shown to raise the risk of cancer.
By 10.27.08
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The New York Times has an interesting article about the speed at which new medical devices are approved by the FDA. The article focuses on a breast cancer treatment that is widely prescribed, but which has not been conclusively shown to be as effective as traditional radiation. [NYT]
FTC: These Eleven Companies Cannot Cure Cancer
By 9.21.08
We’re sorry, but there is no cure for cancer. The FTC is going after eleven companies that claim otherwise by selling potions, herbs, and a “systematized program of thinking good thoughts” masquerading as cures. You shouldn’t need a federal agency to tell you that the “Miracle Water for Cancer” doesn’t actually cure anything, nor does it reverse weight gain and aging. Bummer. Six of the snake oil companies agreed to settle, but five will crawl before a judge and argue that they can cure cancer. Let’s look at the list…
Potato Chips: Now With Fewer Carcinogens!
By 8.2.08
Four major potato chip makers have agreed to use less of the carcinogen Acrylamide under a settlement with the California Attorney General’s office. Frito-Lay, Heinz, Kettle Foods, and Lance Inc. also agreed to pay a $3 million fine for flouting state laws that require companies to place warning labels on products with carcinogens.
10 Practical Tips To Keep Your Cellphone From Killing You
By 7.27.08
Have you heard, cellphones are deadly. Science told us so this week when Dr. Ronald B. Herberman of the esteemed University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute realized that cellphones emit death rays that fry your brain and turn you into a baby-eating Communist, or give you cancer or whatever. Dr. Despair isn’t a downer though! Inside, 10 practical ways to keep your precious little brain safe from those ubiquitous chirping cancer slabs…
By 7.23.08
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What Common Household Products Are Potentially Killing Us Today?: We bring you some panic over dryer sheets, fabric softeners, detergents, and solid, spray and plug-in air fresheners. “When UW engineering professor Anne Steinemann analyzed of some of these popular items, she found 100 different volatile organic compounds measuring 300 parts per billion or more — some of which can be cancerous or cause harm to respiratory, reproductive, neurological and other organ systems.” Rats. [Seattle P-I]
By 6.6.08
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Nathaniel’s restaurant in Owen Sound, Ontario laid off one of their employees because she donated her hair to raise money for cancer research and won’t wear a wig to cover her new haircut. The restaurant owner says he realizes that it’s not good PR for the restaurant, but claims to have heard from customers who would have been “appalled” to be served by a waitress with a buzz cut. We think she looks cute. [CTV](Thanks, Karan!!)
Fun With Warning Labels: Beware The Mickey Mouse Cancer Lamp
By 5.8.08
Reader Mike directs our attention to the above lamp. The warning label reads:
By 5.5.08
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Amazon launched a new “BPA-free” baby supply shop (BPA is a chemical found in some plastic bottles that may cause cancer). The only problem was that not all of the bottles were BPA-free. [Z Recommends]
Leukemia Survivor Who Had Identity Stolen By Lab Tech Tells His Story
By 4.10.08
We wrote about Eric Drew a few weeks ago—his personal information was stolen by a shady lab technician while he was undergoing treatment in 2004.
Liggett Cigarette Company Paid For 2006 Lung Cancer Study
By 3.27.08
CT scanning, a promising approach to detecting lung cancer at early, treatable stages, has been dealt a setback with the revelation that the most prominent study so far in support of it was funded almost entirely by a cigarette company—with the funds funneled through a foundation set up by the study’s author, Dr. Claudia Henschke, reports the New York Times. Although the funding revelation doesn’t negate the results of the study, it raises huge conflict of interest flags and reveals how a tobacco company secretly influenced professional opinion by funneling $3.6 million into the foundation over a three year period.
UnitedHealth Will Cover Teen's Bone Cancer Procedure
By 3.25.08
In the hours leading up to a planned protest outside PacifiCare offices, the health insurance reversed its decision and decided to provide coverage for 17-year-old Nick Columbo to undergo an additional cancer procedure recommended by his doctors, provided the family finds a doctor to perform it. VP of PR for United Health Care, Tyler Mason, told me the coverage for the CyberKnife procedure was initially denied after three review boards, one at Stanford, the USC Cancer Center, and UNH’s California regulator, recommended against it because the cancer was too large, too involved with nerve endings and wrapped in nerves, and because of the potential side effects. Mason said that this information was omitted from the California Nurse’s website because they wanted to use the Columbo case as a political tool. The side effects include Nick needing to use a bag for his bowel movements and the skin on his tailbone falling off. When I asked if the bone cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma, could kill Nick, yes or no, Mason said, “It’s a very challenging situation, I’m not a physician.”
Teen Being Murdered By UnitedHealth Spreadsheet
By 3.25.08
Pacificare, owned by UnitedHeatlh, has decided to deny coverage for Nick Columbo, a 17-year-old dying from bone cancer. Nick has been unresponsive to chemo and his doctors recommend the “CyberKnife” treatment (read their letters here). Nick’s family is holding a protest outside the Pacificare today to try to get the insurance company to change its mind. UnitedHealth is ranked as the worst insurance company in the nation, is being investigated by the state of California, and has been fined over $3.5 million for negligent claims practices. Inside, a plea for help from Nick’s brother.
Doctors Remove Wrong Kidney
By 3.18.08
A surgical team at Park Nicollet Heath Services in Minnesota removed the healthy kidney from a patient last week, and left behind the possibly cancerous kidney.
