by Elizabeth Craven, Senior
December 15, 2016
Cancer is one of the most feared diseases. It occurs when cells divide uncontrollably and form a tumor. Many ways have been devised to try and stop cancer, surgeons try to remove the tumor before it spreads to untouchable regions in the body. Chemotherapy is another, yet harmful, method where they try to kill the cancerous cells. The reason this is so painful is because during the process it not only affects the cancerous cells, it also destroys the healthy ones. Marijuana is being studied and has shown signs of possibly helping stop the growth and development of cancer. There is little to do once someone has developed a tumor, and many see it as a death sentence. However, there are ways to avoid getting cancer, and that is to avoid carcinogens, a substance with the ability to cause cancer in living tissue. Many of these are in obvious things like tobacco, however they can be in everyday items as well. From the chemicals we use to clean to the fruit we eat.
Many house items can be classified to contain carcinogens.They include:
Johnsons and Johnsons baby powder
Covergirl finish makeup
Crest tartar control toothpaste
Alberto VO5 conditioner
Nice n Easy Permanent hair dye
Ajax
Zud heavy Duty Cleaner
Lysol
Zodiac cat and dog flea collar
Weed-b-gone
Beef Frankfurters
Whole milk
Laundry detergents
It is still possible to get cancer when avoiding all of these things due to genetics. Carcinogens are tremendously hard to avoid, but an effort can be put forth to avoid such dangerous substances. Should products made with carcinogens be banned to protect the population? This is one of the problems with a country who cares more about the pocket book than the health of a human. We rely on the government to protect us, but they avoid this situation like cancer. Perhaps our generation will be the change America needs.