HEALTH AND WELLNESS : Cancer – The Cancer of Toxicity

By His Grace and Blessings, I write…

The Cancer of Toxicity

So, what is a common thing that can be found say, in Mariana trench, on the Moon, inside all human beings, animals and birds etc. What it this artificial substance that is not only killing us but also this planet? We may or not may be aware of it but it is omnipresent like devil in our thoughts.

By now I know you must have guessed it. Yes, I am talking of plastic. While Armstrong planted a nylon flag of America on the moon, a research in 2018 revealed that micro-plastics have been found inside the human bodies. In fact, no one knows how, but human beings’ intake a credit card equivalent of plastic in their bodies every week. And not only this, every year more than a million birds and a couple lac of fishes die from consumption of plastics and its resulting toxicities. So dear Sir/Madam we are not living in a plastic planet, but we are ourselves, increasingly becoming plastic.

Why am I talking of plastic in a blog meant to discuss cancer? Well Sir! Hold you breathe. This substance called plastic is made up of thousands of chemicals many of which are established carcinogens. Take for example fundamental carcinogenic chemicals like Vinyl chloride or Bis-phenol A which go into manufacturing of plastic. Or, consider for example, eating from a heated plastic container that creates hormonal imbalance, and cancers of breast, colon and prostrate.

Now think of a single object in your life where the plastics do not have a role. The clothes that you wear to the chair or mat on which you sit,face wash or deodorants that you use, car that you travel to the laptop or mobile on which you are reading my blog. There is nothing without plastic.

Forget plastic, there are thousands of other carcinogen chemicals in our environment to which we are directly or indirectly exposed to on an everyday basis. Mercury, lead, benzene, ammonia, bis phenol, formaldehyde, diethanolamine (DEA), parabens, PFoA, toluene to name a few. These chemicals flood  our cosmetics, alcohol, cigarettes, fragrances, packaged foods, hair products, shoe sprays, floor wax, mats, HD television sets , paints and glues, our toiletries etc. The list is endless and its difficult to pinpoint a single product completely free from traces of these chemicals. I am not saying that a single or a few exposures to any of these will cause cancer, but when we are exposed to them 24/7, and when there is no escape from them, it gets nasty. Their entry in every sphere of our lives, 24/7 is nothing but a miracle of unbridled corporate greed. Now patiently consider the following …

Bayer, a German chemical company supplied Heroin to the world from 1874 to 1917. It was sold as a non-addictive cough suppressant. Bayer was responsible for manufacturing chemicals and gases for concentration camps of Hitler. Many of these cancer-causing chemicals are now used in manufacturing of our fertilizers and other agro chemicals.

Monsanto, an agro-chemical behemoth supplied agent Orange to the American forces in Vietnam. It killed more then 4 lac people, permanently disabled more then 5 lac and had adversely affected more than 20 lac since the end of the war. It released cancer causing non bio-degradable benzene into the environment which is likely to affect people for at least next 1000 years. Agent orange has now found its way into our food chains.

DuPont, one of the largest chemical conglomerates in the world, is facing more than 3500 court cases for dumping C8, a well-established carcinogen into the Ohio river. So chemicals like this are  in our water bodies across the globe. India, for example, has 70% of its water polluted and stands at 120 of 122 countries in terms of availability of safe drinking water.

Formosa Plastic, a Taiwanese petrochemical giant, has been fined millions of dollars for releasing carcinogens and other chemicals into the environment in various countries.

Volkswagen, the das-auto, has paid more then $33 billion for settlement of various criminal charges filed worldwide against them. They employed cheating device in there 11 million diesel cars to bypass the environmental regulations. The methyl lead that was released by these cars is a carcinogen.

The big corporate in their blind pursuit for profits have converted earth into a cancer planet. They are actively in cahoots with the power systems and its very weak regulatory bodies. Moreover, it is clear that vast industrial chemical complex erected for mass killing during the second world war, has successfully been tweaked towards manufacturing  carcinogenic and other extremely harmful chemicals. These chemicals are now very much part of our daily lives.

Conclusion; I am a research Scientist of more than 20 years standing. I have had varied experience of working in the government, in corporate and now I am a chemical entrepreneur myself.I can vouch that there no testing or research on the health impact of any of these chemicals as discussed. Unlike medicine there is no regulatory body to regulate the use of these chemical in our lives and we are mostly Guinea pigs. Many of these chemicals are still unidentified. Therefore, to protect ourselves from these carcinogens, we must at least minimize our exposure to them. A minimalist lifestyle seems to be the only the solution for the time being. Lock-down may be the harbinger of this change and might have taught us some good lessons as well.

By His Grace and Blessings, I write…

Dr. Seema Chaudhary