Businessman dies from brain tumour after spending 6 hours a day on his mobile phone

Forum 7 years ago

Businessman dies from brain tumour after spending 6 hours a day on his mobile phone

A man that spent six hours a day on his mobile phone has died of a brain tumour that he was believes was caused by radiation exposure. Ian Phillips, 44, vowed to beat the disease after he was told he had a growth the size of a lemon in his brain.

But he lost his battle with the disease after spending months campaigning about the potential dangers of mobile phones.

The £110,000-a-year health executive with General Electric's healthcare diagnostic imaging, was hit by a blinding headache six years ago. A tumour the size of a lemon showed up on one of his own MRI scanners at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff in 2010. He then underwent a nine-hour emergency operation but doctors warned him the tumour would come back.

Ian, of Birchgrove, Cardiff, said at the time: "My ear would be red when I left work at the end of the day. I didn't think what it was doing to my brain.

"I spent my working life on my mobile - I would have two-hour conference calls some days."

"I knew straight away it was due to my excessive use of my Blackberry - I was on it all the time.

"I did a lot of research and the number of brain tumours is going up.

"I'm really concerned about children using mobiles - their skulls are softer and radiation from these devices can reach their brains more easily."

Research carried out at the University Bordeaux in France discovered an increased risk of brain tumours in people who use their mobiles for more than 15 hours a month. Ian invested in a gold coloured hand receiver to encourage others to stop holding their mobiles to their ears.

A year ago he said: "I need to get the message across that mobile phones can be dangerous.

"I used mine too much, I know that - but people need to be made aware of the risks and start switching to hand-held receivers. It could save lives."