I was taken aback when I read this medically-reviewed list on CarePages.com of the ten things that may increase your chance of developing cancer. I was most startled by how many of them are related to specific jobs. Here's why these careers could be putting you at a higher cancer.
1. Flight attendants, nurses, and other women working the graveyard shift. A study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reports that women who do shift work have a greater chance of getting breast cancer. Further studies are being conducted to determine how changing the natural sleep pattern could impact melatonin production and spur tumor growth.
2. Hair stylists, barbers, colorists, and salon workers. I admit to being a little afraid to inhale too deeply when I get my roots done, and I imagine I am not alone in assuming that salon products that smell that toxic surely have some impact on the people who work with them every day. But are hair dyes, pigments, and other chemicals found in salons seriously cancer-causing? The IARC says that they are “probably carcinogenic to humans." The good news is that wearing gloves reduces exposure and many products have already been stripped of the ingredients that put salon-workers at a higher risk.
3. Body builders and athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs. It is a sad and astonishing reality that some athletes use anabolic steroids, human-made hormones, to build muscle mass.Unfortunately, steroids do more than amplify an athlete's physique. Long-term use can also cause liver cancer.
4. Painters and artists exposed to chemicals and pigments. Researchers do not yet know which mediums may trigger cancer growth. However, they do recognize that painters have an increased likelihood of developing lung and bladder cancers. Exposure to silica, asbestos, and other carcinogenic materials can also put artists in a higher risk category.
Does your profession put you at a higher risk for developing cancer? Does this concern you at all?
Does your workplace help you take measures to prevent cancer in higher risk situations?
Read more:
- Your kids are not in the clear: The lingering dangers of "third-hand" smoke
- Elizabeth Edwards comes to grip with terminal cancer
- 5 cancer myths busted
[photo credit: Getty Images]
