Hello brainy?

Hello Brainy, time to do more and talk less?

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,26271082-5014239,00.html Brain surgeon Dr Charlie Teo warns against mobiles, home appliances
By Cheryl Critchley

Herald Sun,October 28, 2009 02:00am


Dr Charlie Teo, from Channel 7's Last Chance Surgery, says it's better to avoid electro-magnetic radiation

Surgeon warns of electromagnetic radiation
Takes 'prevention better than cure' approach
Global study: Mobile cancer link
Mobiles: How much radiation is there?

BRAIN cancer surgeon Charlie Teo has urged people to put mobile phones on loudspeaker, move clock radios to the foot of the bed and wait until microwaves have finished beeping before opening them.

The controversial Sydney specialist told a Melbourne fundraiser that although the jury was still out on mobile phones and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, we should not take risks.
"Even though the jury's not in, just to err on the side of safety I would try and limit the amount of electromagnetic radiation that you're exposed to," he said.

"The American government, for example, recommend that all electrical appliances should be put at the foot of the bed and not the head of the bed.

"Electric blankets should be turned off before you get in bed and definitely wait for those five beeps before you open the microwave.

"With the mobile phone I encourage you to put it on loudspeaker and step outside rather than sticking it up to your brain."


Reader's Comments: Brain tumour doc warns against gadgetsNEWS.com.au,
Global study into mobile cancer linkNEWS.com.au, 26 Oct 2009

Dr Teo, who tackles tumours other surgeons deem inoperable, said some hair dyes, particularly red, could also cause brain cancer in people with a predisposition.

"The body needs some genetic predisposition. The hair dye, the mobile phone, they're just catalysts but you probably need some sort of genetic aberration to get the cancer in the first place," he said.

Fast cancers

Dr Teo, who stars in Channel Seven's Last Chance Surgery, was in Melbourne last week for the Blackwood8 fundraiser at Croydon golf club.

The group was founded by family and friends of Sally White, a patient of Dr Teo's whose outlook has improved dramatically.

Dr Teo said while breast cancer doubled its cell numbers in weeks or months, the quickest brain cancers took just 16 hours.

No age group was immune and the incidence of brain tumours was growing.

"It's increasing in frequency both in this country and developing countries and it used to be ranked out of the top 10 but it's just joined the top 10 most common cancers," he said.

Recent studies have raised alarm bells about mobile phones.

An unreleased World Health Organisation study reportedly found "a significantly increased risk" of some brain tumours related to use of mobile phones for 10 years or more.

A Suleyman Demirel University study in Turkey also found wearing a mobile phone on your belt may lead to decreased bone density in an area of the pelvis commonly used for bone grafts.
Dr Teo said there had been some advancements in treating tumours, like microwave therapy and putting chemotherapy directly into a tumour. A healthy diet, meditation and positive thought could also be beneficial.

"We believe that they probably boost the immune system," he said.

Dr Teo's tips to reduce brain tumour risks

- Get eight hours sleep a night and eat well to boost your immune system
- Keep electrical appliances like clock radios at the foot of the bed
- Turn electric blankets off before retiring
- Put mobile phones on hands-free
- Wait until the microwave finishes beeping before opening it
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Readers' Comments
Brain tumour doc warns against gadgets
By Cheryl Critchley,October 28, 2009 02:00am

Article from: Surgeon warns of electromagnetic radiation
Takes 'prevention better than cure' approach
Global study: Mobile cancer link
Mobiles: How much radiation is there?


BRAIN cancer surgeon Charlie Teo has urged people to put mobile phones on loudspeaker, move clock radios to the foot of the bed and wait until microwaves have finished beeping before opening them.

The controversial Sydney specialist told a Melbourne fundraiser that although the jury was still out on mobile phones and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, we should not take risks.

Read full story
I think this is just about the best advise I've heard: in the absence of concrete evidence either way, err on the side of caution. I'd be interested to hear Charlie's view on wireless internet connections, that are now just about everywhere. Are they potentially dangerous, or are they a completeley different type of thing?
Posted by: SB 12:30pm October 29, 2009
Comment 26 of 26

Mobile phones, as with any radio wave transmitting device, should be labelled "minimun exposure is prudent".. but they never will; users quote 'convenience' as the #1 reason for using wireless, and that's just pure laziness.
Posted by: radio tech 9:40am October 29, 2009
Comment 25 of 26

Well said NJ of Canberra. That's really all there is to it. And people shouldn't be addicted to them in they way that they are.
Posted by: Roberto of North Sydney 3:46pm October 28, 2009
Comment 24 of 26

Mobile phones cannot be good for you, full stop.
Posted by: NJ of Canberra 12:12pm October 28, 2009
Comment 23 of 26

No one has the answers, but the decision is simple. You either follow the thought pattern below: Avoid pesticides (Eat Organic) Don't use microwaves Try meditate Avoid Sodium Laureth Sulfate Avoid food preservatives Do not eat margarine Filter your water very well. and so on... If you believe it, follow it, like I do. If you don't believe it, then keep using microwaves and doing what you do. Cancer may be just a roll of the dice.? Who knows? Not me.
Posted by: AG 11:28am October 28, 2009
Comment 22 of 26

Agree with neurodoc. Charlie i admire your work but be part of the scientific solution, not just the vocal one. I appreciate the connection but no-one is able to categorically prove the connection, nor make the effort to do so. Literature searches don't save lives research does. The beeps mean that the thing has finished. If it was dangerous to open the door there would be locks on them until you hit a "stop button. Hair colouring use a colour and peroxide. The enter the hair-dead tissue by the way- and stay there. Doomsayers have littered the Internet with unfounded pseudoscience. Red dyes is another one. There is more risk from getting diesal on your hand at the servo, yet none of you wear gloves to fill up.
Posted by: The Cannulator of Melbourne 11:21am October 28, 2009
Comment 21 of 26

Better to take precautions than wait until you have cancer & finally realise that you mobile caused it!!!! so, be wise & listen & don't just hear...& ignore...thanks doc..
Posted by: May Alisha of Port Moresby,PNG 11:19am October 28, 2009
Comment 20 of 26

These days, everything causes cancer... it is better to introduce packaging/ ingredients description to mention % chances of getting cancer using them.
Posted by: Ben of Canberra 11:13am October 28, 2009
Comment 19 of 26

Ken of Sydney, The magnetic fields generated by the largre high frequency EHT transformer in a microwave is the concern
Posted by: Greg 11:11am October 28, 2009
Comment 18 of 26

U r right Steve - it is so easy to dismiss advice because there is always a greedy lawyer and ppl crying that they didn't know... Ppl are still trying it with cigarettes! And watching gluttonous eaters and boozers cry that the heart disease crept up on them or their kidneys just failed, no warning. I had a clock radio near my bed and didn't link it to the difficulty in breathing and palpitations I got when trying to sleep... One day I unplugged it while cleaning and forgot to plug it back in... Night one - no palpitations... I left it out. One day out of interest I plugged it back in...you guessed it, the problems came back... If one device can disrupt my heart in such a way, imagine 9 hours a night, 365 days of the year....
Posted by: NURSE Practitioner of Perth WA 11:01am October 28, 2009
Comment 17 of 26

He is a neurosurgeon and a very good one too. But he is not a researcher into the cause of brain tumours and he - at least in this article - does not validate his comments with evidence. Technical gadgets are frightening to people who don't understand how they work. And a neurosurgoen like Dr Teo, who enjoys a very popular status certainly can add to such anxiety. Hairdryers create an electromagnetic field which is amongst the strongest if not the strongest of all house hold appliances. However they have been around forever, people grew up with them ( putting them close to their head, just like mobile phones) and think they understand how they work. Therefor they must be much safer than mobile phones or other more modern stuff.
Posted by: Brisbane000 11:01am October 28, 2009
Comment 16 of 26

Sorry to break the break the bad news - but we are all going to die! THere is nothing you can do to prevent it! It is more important how you live rather than how you die! Concentrate your thoughts & efforts there.
Posted by: THe Other Martin of Perth 10:57am October 28, 2009
Comment 15 of 26

Pay attention people, you do not want any form of cancer, and you should be doing everything possible to avoid it. Thank you Dr Teo!
Posted by: kathy of Brisbane 10:56am October 28, 2009
Comment 14 of 26

The moniker "Controversial specialist" is the most accurate statement in this article. For some rational perspective on risk taking Dr Teo rides a motorcycle. Note also that microwaves travel at the speed of light, so one would have to open the door very fast indeed if the microwaves were still "diffusing". Accepting that Dr Teo may have been quoted out of context, I suggest Dr Teo studies the evidence before he speaks on electromagnetic radiation to lay people, and while he is at it allow himself to become involved in existing academic peer review and clinical governance programs. This will be important for optimal patient outcomes.
Posted by: neurodoc 10:46am October 28, 2009
Comment 13 of 26

If all this is so bad for you why are they not banned. I do not understand as Cigarettes are bad for you ( I agree), Achohol is bad for you( In moderation they say). The government won't have to worry about young ones of today living a long while with all these modern cons. I guess that is why my mum is still alive at 92 because she did not have all these thing s when she was young. Oh and by the way she is still dying her hair blond not red. I do believe it is in the genes. Good luck everyone as I think that is what you need these days and lots of it!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Pamela Skipper of Castle Hill 10:33am October 28, 2009
Comment 12 of 26

The microwave bit is a load of bull. Microwaves are non-ionizing. They won't cause cancer.
Posted by: Ken of Sydney 10:33am October 28, 2009
Comment 11 of 26

I can't seriously believe people are so stupid as to believe there is "residual radiation" in a microwave after it stops. It's electro-magnetic radiation that propagates at (300,000 kms/sec) LIGHT SPEED! It's like saying there is still "residual" light in a room 1-5 seconds after you flick the light-switch!
Posted by: Steve 10:32am October 28, 2009
Comment 10 of 26

We have an early 80s microwave that has no '5 beep warning' all it has is a bell when the dial reaches 0 minutes. I never wait for that bell because most of the time I only want to heat something for less than a minute, so I just open the door mid-heating session. Is that bad for me?
Posted by: Redding 10:32am October 28, 2009
Comment 9 of 26

for those of you who are dismissing these messages, i hope you don't get brain cancer and need operating on. Charlie Teo is our countries leading neurosurgeon. if i were to have any neurological issue charlie teo would be one person i'd put my money on. he's just making suggestions, not giving you instructions.
Posted by: Loubells81 of Sydney 10:31am October 28, 2009
Comment 8 of 26

Perhaps waiting for the 5 microwave beeps is a way to delay close proximity to components within the microwave that may still be emitting radiation in the initial moments after the heating/cooking process has stopped. Red hair dye might sound stupid, but then again I'm no brain surgeon - this guys is, so I'm more inclined to listen than ingore. Lucky for me I'm a Ranga.
Posted by: Greg of Ballarat 10:25am October 28, 2009
Comment 7 of 26

Its not until you've had cancer that you really sit up and take notice of these stories. The problem with defining what causes cancer is that there are so many environmental factors at play, its hard to prove any one of them might have an influence above the rest. If a promient brain surgeon says don't use red hair dye or use your mobile phone too much, its because he wants to see less people get the disease. He's not getting sponsored by anyone to say these things.
Posted by: steve 10:25am October 28, 2009
Comment 6 of 26

Red of Sydney - hair dyes have been implicated in a number of different cancers, particularly bladder and brain, with those who use permanent dyes frequently (10 times a year) at a high risk of developing bladder cancer. There are plenty of research articles to back this up.
Posted by: Cancer Nurse of Chemoland 10:24am October 28, 2009
Comment 5 of 26

The beeps indicate that there is still residual microwave radiation inside. Opening the door before the beeps finish doesn't give enough time for the residual radiation to diffuse.
Posted by: Karange of Guadalcanal 10:00am October 28, 2009
Comment 4 of 26

Red, you might want to ask what actual chemicals are in red hair die before you dismiss the possibility. It's worth reiterating that the Dr is saying some precautionary measures that take little to implement might be useful until the final verdict is in.
Posted by: Groo the Blunderer 9:59am October 28, 2009
Comment 3 of 26

Red hair dye causes brain tumours? That's even more stupid than the old adage "underarm deodorant and underwire bras cause breast cancer".
Posted by: Red of Sydney 9:31am October 28, 2009
Comment 2 of 26

Can someone please explain what the five beeps on the microwave means? I assumed that it was simply an audible signal that the timer had finished. Surely when the power turns off i.e. the microwave stops cooking and therefore there is no issue? Can some technical person please answer this question?
Posted by: Ross Corrigan of Sydney 9:28am October 28, 2009
Comment 1 of 26

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