Let Me Entertain You

In April 2015 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It was a rough ride and a long tale for another day.  Let’s focus on the more recent.

I read an article about cell phones and the radiation they emit.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-studies-link-cell-phone-radiation-with-cancer/

Prior to being diagnosed, I had a Samsung android phone.  Loved the phone.  Had a great camera on it.  Carried it with me along with an iPhone provided by the company for the time I worked the Gulf Oil Spill. 

My last assignment in the gulf (2012) was as a safety rep on a UTV assigned to Ft. Morgan beach.  Yea…it doesn’t get much better than that.  I was driving on the beach from 6:00 am until noon Monday – Friday.  Bad part was, my phones kept dropping out of my pockets.  I had to have my phones with me at all times.  So – I stuffed them in the sides of my bra and used a Bluetooth headset that vibrated around my neck to receive calls.  Worked like a charm.  Regardless of wind, waves crashing, etc.  I was aware if my phone rang and could speak and hear clearly while I was driving.  Perfect!  Or so I thought.

The spots where I placed my phone is precisely the area where the cancer appeared.  I had two different types:  Invasive and Ductal. 

I could not get this connection out of my head since I read the article.  When visiting my doctor during my regularly scheduled appointment, I asked his opinion.  He said with assurance that he felt that was where the cancer came from.  He then showed me that he carries his phone in his front pocket so that it rests more at the top of his thigh rather than near his kidney on his belt of against his chest in his shirt pocket.  Apparently (If I explain this correctly), cells in the trunk of your body (organs) replicate differently than the cells in the muscles of your legs.  Thus, one area is dangerous and the other is not. 

Needless to say, I don’t carry phones in my bra anymore.  I don’t keep the phone anywhere against the trunk of my body anymore.  But what I can’t get out of my head is the image of a young mother driving and trying to “entertain” her fussy child in a car seat behind her by simply handing the child the phone saying, “Here, play with this.”  The child then entertains themselves until they fall asleep….with the phone on top of their body.

The thought of this scares the hell out of me.  I’m no scientist and have no conclusive in writing certainty of what I am telling you – but why take the chance.  Please find another way of amusing your children in car seats other than giving them your phones!  A cancer diagnosis is a high price to pay.

The Roaring Ellie