# Antiperspirant Causes Breast Cancer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 1999, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080 "1999-10-13T18:20:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beefymeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@beefymeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beefymeg)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/1 "1999-10-13T18:20:00Z")
Just got this email from a work buddy: \> Some time ago, I attended a Breast Cancer Awareness seminar. During the \> Q&A period, I asked why the most common (and what seemed to be deadliest) \> area for Breast Cancer was near the arm pit. My question could not be \> answered at that time. \> \> This e-mail was just sent to me, and I find it interesting that my \> question has been answered. I challenge you all to rethink your everyday \> use of a product that could ultimately lead to a terminal illness. As of \> today, I will change my use. Paranoid? I think not. Precaution? I \> certainly hope so. \> \> The leading cause of breast cancer is the use of antiperspirant. \> A Concentration of toxins and leads to cell mutations: a.k.a. CANCER. Yes, \> ANTIPERSPIRANT. Most of the products out there are an \> antiperspirant/deodorant combination so go home and check your labels. \> \> Deodorant is fine, antiperspirant is not. Here’s why: The human body has \> a few areas that it uses to purge toxins; behind the knees, behind the \> ears, groin area, and armpits. The toxins are purged in the form of \> perspiration. \> \> Antiperspirant, as the name clearly indicates, prevents you from \> perspiring, thereby inhibiting the body from purging toxins from below the \> armpits. These toxins do not just magically disappear. Instead, the body \> deposits them in the lymph nodes below the arms since it cannot sweat them \> out. \> \> Nearly all breast cancer tumors occur in the upper outside quadrant of the \> breast area. This is precisely where the lymph nodes are located. \> Additionally, men are less likely (but not completely exempt) to develop \> breast cancer prompted by antiperspirant usage because most of the \> antiperspirant product is caught in their hair and is not directly applied \> to the skin. \> \> Women who apply antiperspirant right after shaving increase the risk \> further because shaving causes almost imperceptible nicks in the skin \> which give the chemicals entrance into the body from the armpit area. \> \> PLEASE pass this along to anyone you care about. Breast Cancer is \> becoming frighteningly common. This awareness may save lives. \> \> If you are skeptical about these findings, I urge you to do some research \> for yourself. You will arrive at the same conclusions, I assure you. \> \> Thank you. It had a name and address as a “reference.” Does anybody know if this is truth or just another UL? * * * Sucks to your assmar. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/2 "1999-10-13T18:31:00Z")
Just to add fuel to the fire, most anti-perspirants contain aluminum compounds and at one time (I don’t know if they still think so) aluminum was considered a possible contributor to Alzheimer’s. However – I don’t think the “toxins” explanation is valid. You don’t sweat to rid your body of toxins. The apocrine sweat glands (the smelly ones, in your armpits and groin) are, I think, generally considered to be sexual in nature. The primary organ for toxin removal is the liver. Apart from that the timing is all wrong. Anti-perspirants are a recent invention. Breast cancer has been around a long time and women have always had higher rates of breast cancer than men. I think this is a classic case of post hoc reasoning: Breast cancer involves the lymph nodes; lymph nodes are in the armpits (what about all the other lymph nodes in the body?); Omigod! women SHAVE their armpits and put CHEMICALS on them!; CHEMICALS cause cancer; therefore Arrid XXtra Dry is a carcinogen!! ## Nah! I hope it doesn’t even make it to UL status. “The inability of science to grasp Quality, as an object of enquiry, makes it impossible for science to provide a scale of values.” Robert Pirsig ---
**Author:** ![beefymeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@beefymeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beefymeg)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/3 "1999-10-13T18:33:00Z")
[http://www.snopes.com/toxins/breast.htm](http://www.snopes.com/toxins/breast.htm) Ta-daaaa! Answered my own question. * * * Sucks to your assmar. ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/4 "1999-10-13T18:54:00Z")
I do believe a youth from Great Britain died a year or so ago from using to much anti-perspirant/deodorant to often. That however was directly related to poisoning by overexposure to one of the ingrediants IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![StrTrkr777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@StrTrkr777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrTrkr777)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/5 "1999-10-13T19:02:00Z")
I am by no means a doctor or a scientist, but it does not seem to be completely true/scientific. > [@](#): > > \> a few areas that it uses to purge toxins; behind the knees, behind the > \> ears, groin area, and armpits. The toxins are purged in the form of > \> perspiration. I don’t know about this person, but I sweat all over, not just behind the knees and the armpits. I also think we get rid of many more toxins when we excrete wastes than we do from sweating. Some people hardly ever sweat and others sweat all the time (I am in the latter category). So for the seldom sweaters is there a higher risk of all cancers? > [@](#): > > These toxins do not just magically disappear. Instead, the body > \> deposits them in the lymph nodes below the arms since it cannot sweat them > \> out. They would not come out from the other toxin removal areas? > [@](#): > > \> Nearly all breast cancer tumors occur in the upper outside quadrant of the > \> breast area. This is precisely where the lymph nodes are located. Probably because most cancer of the breast area gets into the lymph nodes. > [@](#): > > \> Additionally, men are less likely (but not completely exempt) to develop > \> breast cancer prompted by antiperspirant usage because most of the > \> antiperspirant product is caught in their hair and is not directly applied > \> to the skin. Antiperspirant works because it blocks the sweat gland under the armpits. Since it works for men (i.e. no wet underarms) we must assume that even though it gets caught in the hair, it still clogs the pores and would still trap the toxins. Then the numbers of men with breast cancer should be as high as women. I know one personal annecdote means nothing statistically, but my grandmother like never used antiperspirant (at least not until she was much older) and she developed breast cancer. So it likely did not cause hers at least. And after I posted all this I searched Snopes and found the link. It is false. It is a UL. [http://www.snopes.com/toxins/breast.htm](http://www.snopes.com/toxins/breast.htm) Jeffery \> \> Women who apply antiperspirant right after shaving increase the risk \> further because shaving causes almost imperceptible nicks in the skin \> which give the chemicals entrance into the body from the armpit area. \> \> PLEASE pass this along to anyone you care about. Breast Cancer is \> becoming frighteningly common. This awareness may save lives. \> \> If you are skeptical about these findings, I urge you to do some research \> for yourself. You will arrive at the same conclusions, I assure you. \> \> Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/6 "1999-10-13T21:10:00Z")
I’ve also read articles that wearing bras may lead to breast cancer. We restrict the flow of blood around our breasts, esp. with underwires, and the restriction interferes with the lymphatic system. Sounds plausible, but who knows? Personally, I’m ditching both bras AND anti-perspirant. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 1999, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/7 "1999-10-13T23:06:00Z")
The Snopes link briefly addresses the bra link as well, and dismisses it. The bra Email is one of the most disgusting pieces of pseudo-science I have ever seen, because it implies that if a woman finds a lump in her breast her best course of action is just to go braless for a month or two, not to haul ass to the doctor. DIF and I once got into a rageing argument about this over on the Snopes message board. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 1999, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/8 "1999-10-14T00:28:00Z")
pluto wrote: > [@](#): > > The apocrine sweat glands (the smelly ones, in your armpits and groin) are, I think, generally considered to be sexual in nature. Armpit stink is supposed to be arousing? Man, that’s the second weirdest fetish I’ve ever heard of. * * * Quick-N-Dirty Aviation: Trading altitude for airspeed since 1992. ---
**Author:** ![tipiwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@tipiwoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tipiwoo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 1999, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/9 "1999-10-14T05:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Just to add fuel to the fire, most anti-perspirants contain aluminum compounds and at one time (I don’t know if they still think so) aluminum was considered a possible contributor to Alzheimer’s. Well, I did a research paper about Alzheimer’s last year, and currently, the research is not claiming aliminum as a cause of Alzheimer’s, but people with Alzheimer’s have been found to exhibit up to 8% more aluminum in their body than people without the disease. Draw your own conclusions. 🙂 * * * tipi 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 1999, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/10 "1999-10-14T05:40:00Z")
Perhaps the same thing that causes Alzheimers also inhibits the excretion of aluminum. It’s like concluding that excess sodium increases blood pressure, because hypotensives exhibit high sodium levels; when in actuality (according to the latest studies reported in _JAMA_), sodium has very little effect in changing the blood pressure of an otherwise normal subject. Say it with me people; **Correlation Does Not Imply Causation**. * * * TT “Believe those who seek the truth. Doubt those who find it.” --Andre Gide ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/11 "1999-10-15T12:29:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Armpit stink is supposed to be arousing? Man, that’s the second weirdest fetish I’ve ever heard of. Okay, Tracer, I’ll bite. What’s THE weirdest fetish you’ve ever heard of? ---
**Author:** ![Poto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Poto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poto)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 1999, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/12 "1999-10-17T11:32:00Z")
Back to the: > [@](#): > > Just to add fuel to the fire, most anti-perspirants contain aluminum compounds and at one time (I don’t know if they still think so) aluminum was considered a possible contributor to Alzheimer’s. The most common form of aluminum we use is Maalox, which is Al(OH)3. If you don’t want that, use Ca(OH)2 which is TUMS.Which is constipating. Hey, maybe you should use tums as an antiperspirant!If it stops one thing moving, why not perspiration drops? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 1999, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/13 "1999-10-17T18:06:00Z")
Maybe it’s just me but I never found those calcium antacids to work. The aluminum based ones usually do. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 1999, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antiperspirant-causes-breast-cancer/4080/14 "1999-10-19T22:00:00Z")
PunditLisa wrote: > [@](#): > > Okay, Tracer, I’ll bite. What’s THE weirdest fetish you’ve ever heard of? You do NOT want to know. Bleah. And I mean, BLEAH!!