Is Sunscreen Safe for Breast Cancer Survivors?
Recently, a syndicated column claiming that sunscreen might be dangerous for breast cancer survivors ran in newspapers across the country. This assertion was based on research which proved that certain ingredients in sunscreen have estrogenic effects and have been shown to make breast cancer cells grow faster. The real deal The primary studies hinting at dangers from sunscreen use have all been done in test tubes or on animals — not on people — and the results may not mean that sunscreen poses risks to humans, says Martin Weinstock, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of dermatology and community health at Brown University in Rhode Island and chair of the American Cancer Association’s skin cancer advisory group. “It’s important not to jump to conclusions,” he says. “The studies saying that some of these compounds have estrogenic effects are all very preliminary. No one has ever linked any sunscreen to any disease related to estrogen in actual people, so at this point, it’s premature to get worrie
