Personal Hygiene Products and Cancer

I just received a press release about links between talc in personal hygiene products and increased incidence of ovarian cancer. If you are one of the 17% of women using talc products for genital hygiene, stop now and switch to cornstarch powder which is a safe alternative.

The mortality rate from ovarian cancer for women over the age of 65 has escalated dramatically since 1975, by 13% for white and 47% for black women. There are now about 15,300 deaths from ovarian cancer each year making it the fourth most common fatal cancer for women.

There has been a citizen petition around since 1994, pushing for carcinogenic labelling on  products containing talc, but it has not moved the needle on this so far. Talc, or Talcum Powder, is related to asbestos. One study found that 39 out of 40 talcum tested contained one percent asbestos fibre.

Bottomline is avoid talcum powder.