Is Your Home Cancer-Proof? Take This Quiz to Find Out

Did you know?

You are being exposed to over 84,000 chemicals on the market today, and only 1 percent has been tested for safety or cancer-causing effects. Our current law, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, is so lax that only 5 chemicals have been banned since it was enacted. Even chemicals that studies prove are known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) are in your home and legally cannot be banned.

Babies in this country are being born polluted, with over 300 toxic chemicals and known carcinogens being found in their blood at birth. Your car, cell phone, furniture, mattress, clothing, and personal care products are all being made with known carcinogens and chemicals that haven’t been tested for their safety. In fact, of the 84,000+ chemicals circulating in your environment, only about 200 have undergone the testing required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for safety. Yet they are circulating in the blood of 100 percent of the people in the many studies done through Columbia University.

Have you heard the statistic that it takes 26 seconds for a chemical to be absorbed through your skin? For many chemicals – including the ones you use to scrub the floor your toddler is standing on barefoot – it’s true. And they go right from your skin into the bloodstream. This is a big issue when we know carcinogens are being used in everything from tap water to sunscreen and so much more.

Even when a chemical isn’t a known carcinogen, repeated exposures add up and still mount a concern for causing cancer. Your body’s detoxification systems can only handle so much before they are bogged down and unable to eliminate all we come in contact with. When these toxins accumulate, illness isn’t far behind – including cancer.

How Many Cancer-Causing Chemicals Are In Your Home? Take This Quiz!

There are so many carcinogens in our environment today, it would take a book to list them all and every household product they can be in. To make it easier, we’ve created this cancer quiz to get you started doing the detective work that’s needed to find cancer-causing chemicals in your home and make it more cancer-proof.

Do keep track of all your “yes” answers and start taking inventory of the ways you can reduce exposure.

Food

1. Do you eat or drink anything that contains “FD&C” artificial colorings?
2. Do you use artificial sweeteners?
3. Do you eat processed meats (lunch meats, sausages, etc.)?
4. Do you eat genetically modified foods?
5. Do you eat non-organic fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, and dairy products?
6. Do you eat fast food and other fried foods?
7. Do you store or heat foods in plastic?
8. Do your children use plastic bottles, sippy cups, or plastic plates of any kind?

Water

1. Do you drink unfiltered water?
2. Do you drink water from plastic bottles?
3. Do you shower or bathe in chlorinated tap water?
4. Do you swim in chlorinated pools or hot tubs?
5. Have contaminants, lead, or parasites been found in your water supply (with notices sent to your home)?
6. Do you use aluminum foil, aluminum cookware, or non-stick cookware?
7. Do you drink alcohol of any kind or amount, including red wine?

Indoor Environment

1. Do you have carpet of any kind in your home?
2. Do you live in a manufactured or mobile home?
3. Do you or does someone you live with smoke in your home or car?
4. Do you have pressed wood cabinets, furniture (think easy to assemble types or wood veneer), or laminate flooring?
5. Has your home tested positive for hidden mold or does it have visible mold or mildew anywhere?
6. Do you spend most of your time indoors?
7. Has your indoor air quality been tested?
8. Do you use synthetic air fresheners or wax melts?

Cleaning Products

1. Do you use scented laundry products – detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets, etc.?
2. Do you use aerosol air fresheners or cleaners of any type?
3. Do you use scented cleansers, including floor products?
4. Do you use foaming cleansers that contain sodium laureth/lauryl sulfate?

Personal Care Products

1. Do you use sunscreen?
2. Do you use antibacterial soaps, shampoos, or body wash?
3. Do you use shampoos, soaps, acne medications, deodorants, shaving creams, body washes, bubble baths, or baby soaps that contain any of the following chemicals: sodium laureth/lauryl sulfate, DMDM Hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea, PEG, propylene glycol, artificial colors, parabens, triclosan, dioxin, phthalates, Quaternium-15, or benzoyl peroxide?
4. Do you use body lotion or skin creams of any type?
5. Do you dye your hair with synthetic products (especially lead acetate or formaldehyde)?
6. Do you use synthetic cosmetics or cosmetics that contain heavy metals?
7. Do you wear perfume or other scented products?
8. Do you use synthetic hair styling products or aerosols?

Radiation and EMFs

1. Do you live within 50 miles of a nuclear storage facility or power plant?
2. Is there heavy traffic or concentrated vehicle exhaust near your home?
3. Do you live near power lines that produce EMFs?
4. Does your home have a Smart Meter (electric meter)?
5. Do you have WiFi at home, and how many neighbors’ WiFi signal extends into your home?
6. Do you sleep within 3 feet of any electronics, cell phones, or appliances (even through a wall)?
7. Do you spend an extensive amount of time on your computer or cell phone?
8. Does your home use dimmer light switches?
9. Do you use power tools, even for home repairs?
10. Do you live near cell phone towers?

Making simple changes can have a huge impact. You can replace carpet and laminate flooring with hardwood and ceramic tile, turn off the WiFi router at night, move electronics further away from your bed and place your phone on airplane mode. Choose cosmetics and personal care products with natural ingredients, and use cleansers like vinegar and baking soda to replace the toxic ones. Install an air purifier and invest in a good water filtration system. As you reduce your exposure to household carcinogens, your cancer risk also goes down, and that’s the end goal!