Is this the real reason thyroid cancers are skyrocketing?
Thyroid cancer rates are off the charts, and experts are saying it’s a big mystery.
Sure, the usual “better detection” excuse is being tossed around. But even government researchers who just finished a big study on thyroid cancer rates aren’t buying that one.
With the numbers skyrocketing during the last few decades, experts are looking everywhere they can for a logical reason.
But maybe the best place to start that search is right in the homes of millions of Americans.
Whenever the numbers of a particular disease increase, health professionals always grasp for the easiest answers. As I said, better detection is a big one. Then there’s obesity and smoking.
But those reasons just don’t hold water in this case.
Researchers with the National Institutes of Health discovered that the rates of thyroid cancer have more than tripled since the mid-1970s. Dr. Robert Courgi, a thyroid specialist who chimed in on these findings, said this is a “wake-up call” and that we need to learn more about how to prevent this cancer as soon as possible.
Well, here’s something to learn more about, Dr. Courgi.
In another new study, one that was released at almost exactly the same time as the NIH one, researchers from Duke University Medical Center made a shocking discovery about why thyroid cancer may be on the rise — what could be the smoking gun.
It turns out that something that was supposed to protect us — those flame-retardant chemicals you’ll find in couches, curtains, carpeting, and other household items — may instead be causing a huge spike in this disease.
One, a brominated compound (called BDE-209), can be found in the casings of older electronic equipment and furniture upholstery. Two other substances, TCEP and TPHP, are used to treat plastics and the frames of upholstered furniture.
And how you get exposed to these toxins is through dust. That’s right, common house dust — what seems to be just a nuisance may be what’s behind this surge in cases. And even more frightening is something else that Duke researcher Dr. Julie Ann Sosa and her team uncovered.
Those who live in homes with the higher dust concentrations of TCEP and TPHP had over four times the risk of not just having thyroid cancer, but developing a very aggressive tumor that “extended beyond” the thyroid.
And if you needed any more evidence that what these researchers found is right on the money, listen to this. It was around the same time when thyroid cancer rates started going up that California passed a standard which pretty much forced all furniture makers to start treating furniture with these flame-retardant chemicals!
So, if you want an excuse to replace that old couch or chair that’s been in your home since Seinfeld debuted, that’s a really good one. Because you should be able to find furnishings — ones made after January 1, 2015 — that will have a label saying it “contain(s) NO added flame retardant chemicals.”
By the same token, don’t purchase any foam furniture with a label that says it complies with “technical bulletin 117.” That’s a tip that it will very likely contain one of these dangerous compounds.
And while controlling house dust might seem akin to sweeping the beach, you can still keep levels in your home as low as possible. Here are three ways to do that:
#1: Never “dry dust” furniture. Either use a damp cloth, a duster sprayed with water or a non-toxic cleaner, or the dusting attachment on your vacuum.
#2: If you don’t already have one, buy a vacuum with a HEPA filter to keep more dust trapped in the canister instead of going back into the air.
#3: Buy a portable room HEPA air filter. That will further reduce dust along with animal dander, pollen and lots of other allergens.
“Are flame retardants driving some of the thyroid cancer increase?” Lisa Nainggolan, April 1, 2017, Medscape, medscape.com
