TALCUM POWDER LINKED TO OVARIAN CANCER

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand
Psalm 127: 3 & 4

This post, as you can see has nothing to do with infertility, nevertheless, I feel a strong need to share it because my reading audience is made up of mostly women and we all know too well how suseptible we are to ovarian cancer.

Talcum powder, I have memories of it as a young girl growing up. We were never out of this product as my mom saw it as such a necessary part of the female in her household’s hygiene and as babies, the talcum baby powder was used on us for ‘nappy’ changes.

Well, an article in my local newspaper recently, made mention of a study done, that reported that Talcum powder is a cause of ovarian cancer.

From the article:

“You’ve probably used it, or had it sprinkled on you at some time in your life. It’s processed from a soft mineral compound of magnesium silicate and is called talcum powder, or just talc.

Talcum powder is manufactured by Johnson and Johnson among others, and is widely available in drug stores. Women have been persuaded by years of advertisements to dust themselves with talcum powder to mask alleged genital odors.

While the powder has been a symbol of freshness and cleanliness for over five decades, genital talc dusting is a dangerous, but avoidable cause of ovarian cancer, warns Dr. Samuel S. Epstein, chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition.

The first warning of the dangers of genital talc dusting came in a 1971 report on the identification of talc particles in ovarian cancers, a finding sharply contested by Dr. GY Hildrick-Smith, who was then Johnson and Johnson’s medical director.

A subsequent publication in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet warned that, ‘The potentially harmful effects of talc….in the ovary….should not be ignored.” This warning was confirmed in a 1992 article in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology which reported that a woman’s frequent talc use on her genitals increased the risk of ovarian cancer by threefold. The talc in question was simple brand or generic “baby powder.”

I am not sure how many women these days, still use talcum powder as part of their personal hygiene regiment, but if you do, it would helpful if you read this post. Also, if there are parents out there using generic “baby powder” for their baby girls’ diaper changes, I believe you in particular should make note of this.

Be informed therefore, and catch up with you next time.