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The fear that cell phones cause cancer with the radiation they emit is irrational, and supporting that notion in any way (even just as speculation as to whether or not it actually occurs) is incredibly irresponsible.

The majority of scientific analysis and testing has found no link between the usage of cell phones and increased cancer risk. None. However, there is evidence to suggest that the "nocebo effect" (in which a person taking a placebo assumes there will be negative side-effects resulting from its use) produces any number of very real physical symptoms simply by believing they will appear.

In effect, you've taken a hysterical unproven argument and used it in a way that is more likely to make your readers sick than the actual use of their cell phones.

One search on wikipedia would've revealed this to you. Good work.

This is a really poor arguement.

That's like saying I know a guy who got hit by a car after he started wearing dress shoes to work. Lots of people get hit by cars while wearing dress shoes, so there must be a link!

The science on cell phones being dangerous is shaky. Should you be cautious and not be on the phone 24/7? Probably. Do you need to stop using one all together out of fear of cancer? Probably not.

There are plenty of factors in our environment that can cause cancer, all you can do is try to avoid them or minimize exposure as reasonably as possible and hope everything works out ok.

Well that's another opinion...
Every few years I hear that a study has been done that suggests that cellphone radiation DOES cause cancer. It's on the news for a day or two and then never mentioned again.
I have personally discussed the issue with scientists who are in a position to know who say it is possible- though they confess that they would have to do their own research.
Now we have to listen to Wikipedia for the "truth"?

Science ultimately is about consensus, not proof. If it were about proof, we would not have called Pluto a planet for so many years only to have that "theory" undermined recently.
This stuff has to be paid for by someone and generally science is funded by the power of progress, not regress.

I also know someone who died from a tumor inside his head- he was always on the phone.
If you wait for science to tell you whether walking in front of a moving car is bad, you might never get the news. Anyone remember DDT?

Anyway, the media is really the only communication conduit for science to the general public.

It definitely seems like caution is in order. Science really has not been able to come to any strong conclusions on the subject because it takes a long time to develop a tumor. It is also hard to do retrospective studies of cell phone use because people don't recall their usage very well and because the technology is constantly changing. In other words, if cell phone radiation is carcinogenic, we probably wouldn't know about it.

It is not as if it is a crazy idea to think that radiation of the cell phone variety can be carcinogenic, we know it can be. It is just a matter of timing and dosage, we don't know if common electronic usage puts people into the danger zone or not.

For any heavy cell users, I would recommend getting a non-bluetooth head set.

Regarding yolio's comments. I can't cite the study, but I read somewhere that wired headsets do a good job of conducting the radiation directly to your head. You would be better off using a bluetooth headset. Bluetooth is extremely low power, so much so that any radiation cannot penetrate your skull.

Since I can't cite the actual study where I read this it's merely anecdotal -- like the original article -- and it should be treated as such. An opinion, not science.

It's unlikely that non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation like the radio waves used by cell phones could ever cause cancer, at least in their direct interactions with the cells themselves at the power levels involved. The most they could do is cause a tiny bit of heating.

However, I suppose it is possible the radio waves could be interacting with other substances in the human body, causing those to become carcinogenic in some manner. Such interactions might explain why the results of various studies have been so inconclusive - if the participants don't have certain substances in their bodies in sufficient quantities, they won't be impacted by exposure to cell phone signals.

Cell phones do not cause or increase the risk of cancer. Please stop perpetuating junk science, it hurts us all.

Many journals have covered this, Skeptoid did a podcast on it too: http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4117

"but from his experience he knew that cell phone usage was definitely playing a part"

I just have to ask the question: How did he know cell phone usage was definitely playing a part? Being a victim of something doesn't make you an educated expert. He believes it was playing a part because he has no other answer. We all tend to want to blame something, it's only natural. I'll let the experts conduct the necessary research before throwing my cell phone out.