Talcum Powder and Ovarian Cancer
Talc is the world’s softest rock but the minute fibers contained in talc are very similar to asbestos. For years, environmental scientists have been saying that talcum powder can cause cancer. Now that issue will be going to court.
A 52-year-old woman from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is suing Johnson & Johnson and two mining companies for failing to warn consumers about the possibility of contracting ovarian cancer from talcum power.
She was diagnosed in 2006 after using the powder in her genital area every day after showering from 1975 to 2007.
The Argus Leader reports that the federal complaint says the talc caused her cancer and the mines and health care company failed to warn the public, making them guilty of negligence.
A Harvard University study from 2008, suggests women who use talc once a week might be increasing their risk of cancer by 36 percent. Daily users’ risk of ovarian cancer jumped by 41 percent.
You are urged by The American Cancer Society to replace talc with a cornstarch-based powder.
Consumer Help
Consumers can look on the Web site of the National Cancer Institute which has additional information about the risk of using talc near the vaginal area. Ovarian cancer strikes more than 21,000 women a year and leads to about 14,000 deaths annually. Often it is without symptoms.
It is the leading cause of death from cancer of the female reproductive system.
In 1994, Dr. Samuel Epstein of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, wrote to then FDA Commissioner, Dr. David Kessler, presenting a citizen petition seeking carcinogenic labeling on all cosmetic talk products.
The environmental scientists said that research done as early as 1961 showed particles similar to talc and asbestos particles can locate from the exterior genitals to ovaries in women. He pointed to the unexpected high rates of mortality from ovarian cancer in female asbestos workers.
In his latest book, Toxic Beauty, Dr. Samuel Epstein says, “Unbelievably, the FDA has recklessly failed to protect us from toxic ingredients in cosmetics and personal-care products for the last six decades. What’s more, the mainstream industry has remained criminally indifferent to the dangers of their products. In sharp contrast, European regulations ban all products containing toxic ingredients.”
Sources: http://www.argusleader.com/article/20091210/NEWS/912100340/1001/news;http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/92/3/249 ; http://www.preventcancer.com/documents/ToxicBeauty_pressrelease_FINAL.pdf
