Welding one of the worst occupations, according to WSJ

Have a friend who used to say "she makes a living, I make the living worthwhile". He did finally settle down, somewhat... Linemen are a different bunch...

Matt

Reportedly by some there is a health risk for long term welding from electro-magnetic radiation to cause tumors (???)

Obviously, I do not believe this would effect hobby welding but I can tell you in the way-back a relative of mine worked in the auto assembly business when hand welding was more common. Perhaps it was ventilation of the day way back then but he mentioned the all-day welders did not live very long and usually croaked with something before or around 60 and aged fast. True or not, I don't know.

Welding is a tough dangerous job. Period. But everyone dies from something. I have also heard that cell phones cause brain cancer. And microwave ovens. And TV screens. And high wires. And stop lights. And toasters. And hearing aids. And computer monitors. And even going outside and breathing air.

We need more laws!

Steve

We've heard all these things -- it's unfortunate that there's some loon out there claiming anything you can imagine will give you cancer, and they're all given equal coverage by the media with the real carcinogens. So people stop listening.

The primary reason for the claims is a simple one: people are scared of cancer(s) and have no idea of the exact cause(s).

So far, most seem to be gene-related but the scientists haven't been able to figure out which one(s) are involved and, even if they DO, the average person would be unwilling to admit that THEY might be "less than perfect" and would want to have the contributing factors eliminated in the hope that THEY would be spared.

BTW, I'm a "cancer survivor" myself: a basal carcinoma (skin tumor) got removed 7 years ago. Fortunately, for me, it wasn't malignant.

Life itself is a terminal disease, from which no one escapes...

DJ

This is on the order of a trivia question -- I thought "malignant" and "cancer" were (medical) synonyms. No?

Joe Pfeiffer wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@babs.wb.pfeifferfamily.net:

No.

Cancers may be either Benign (don't spread to other areas/parts of the body) or Malignant (actively spread to other areas/parts of the body).

Some kinds are one while others are the other.

Some cancers may be malignant but - for a while, at least - be encapsulated by healthy tissue that gives a surgeon a chance to remove it. One problem with an encapsulated tumor is that a "Needle Biopsy" (removal of tissue with a hypodermic) can actually start the spread. (My BIL had one on his kidney that - fortunately for him - his Oncologist was able to diagnose and remove without its spread.)

Been through three Mohs procedures and had dozens burned off with liquid nitrogen.

Steve

The next step is for it to metastasise, where it basically breaks off and floats through the body, and wherever it comes to land, another cancerous lesion starts to grow.

Steve

All bleeding stops eventually, and everyone dies from something.

Get busy living or get busy dying.

Steve

So are there tumors that are not cancerous at all? My understanding up until now was that tumors could be benign or malignant, and a malignant tumor was cancerous. Apparently not....

Tumors and cancerous growths are very different. A tumor can be there all your life and not bother you, or not even grow.

Steve, who has a short list of things he hasn't had

That page conforms to my understanding of the terminology: "A tumor can be benign, pre-malignant or malignant, whereas cancer is by definition malignant."

The post that had me confused (still quoted up above) mentioned benign cancers.

there is no such thing as benign cancer. All cancers are by definition malignant. There are benign tumors that are not cancers and do not threaten health in any way. Of which I have some since young age, they do not grow or change. There are also tumors that ar not cancers, but could become cancers later.

Tim Robbins' line from "Shawshank Redemption".

If I were you, I'd discuss this with an Oncologist (an MD who specializes in Cancers).

They have a somewhat different view.

Not what my dermatologist told me when he explained the various cancers he has treated me for in past years. From what I understood, there are different levels and groups of cancers, some worse than others.

Steve