Ida's Soap Box

The claim that using an antiperspirant causes breast cancer is listed under “common cancer myths and misconceptions” on the National Cancer Institute website. Part 3 continues debunking the major misconceptions concerning breast cancer and antiperspirants.

The misinformation concerning antiperspirants and breast cancer has been circulated via emails, on websites and even in newspapers. In this blog I will explore the myth that states, "Since antiperspirants keep a person from sweating, cancer-causing toxins build up in the armpit lymph nodes located in the armpits."

Since underarm antiperspirants and deodorants are applied near the breast and often contain synthetic ingredients, some have suggested a connection between their use and breast cancer. Although no scientific evidence links the use of these products to the development of breast cancer, there is a great deal of misinformation circulating around the internet. I have created a series of four blogs and over the next few weeks I will try to shed some light on the misinformation.

Every day we produce on average one quart of sweat. Our skin contains millions of glands and some produce sweat. We have between 25,000 and 50,000 sweat glands and millions of bacterial in our armpits alone. Sweating and body odor come from secretions of two types sweat glands, eccrine glands and apocrine glands.