Letter: Electromagnetic fields may weaken cancer treatment

Monday, July 27, 1998 | 9:41 a.m.

In the March 1998 issue of Alternatives, Dr. David Williams reported that Robert Liburdy, a biologist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, "has found that melatonin loses it's ability to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells when exposed to electromagnetic fields of 12 mg." In addition, Liburdy also found that these "relatively weak electromagnetic fields also blocked the actions of the popular anti-cancer drug, Tamoxifen." Liburdy further found that in order to "overcome the effect of the electromagnetic field, the dosage of the drug had to be increased tenfold."

How many cancer patients being infused with Tamoxifen, or oncologists administering the drug, know that the patient's home or work environment may be rendering the drug absolutely useless? How many realize that power lines near homes, water bed heaters and electric blankets, computers, electric alarm clocks, and/or video games are among the countless lethal sources of electromagnetic radiation that are pummeling our bodies -- much like a "microscopic hail storm" -- for hour after hour each and every day.

Long-term exposure to electromagnetic fields has been the subject of countless studies and has long been suspected of being (if not the primary factor) a contributing cause of many cancers, including childhood leukemia, brain tumors, breast cancer, plus a host of other illnesses. Now the research is beginning to bear this out. The cumulative effects of this constant barrage on our bodies eventually irreversibly damages the cells which then results in uncontrolled cell growth, i.e., cancer.

People need to be informed. The scientific community is firm in its position that "prudent avoidance" is the only certain protection we have.

Carolyn Mich'l