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Do mobile towers or phones cause blood cancer? | CION Cancer Clinics
No good evidence shows that mobile towers cause blood cancer. Towers send out low-energy radio waves that cannot damage the genes in blood cells, and health bodies including the World Health Organization have not found a link. This page explains why the fear spreads in a colony, what is actually known to raise the risk of leukaemia, and what to do if you are still worried. At CION Cancer Clinics, our haematology team supports patients and families through treatment, cost questions and life at home.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Basudev PokhrelConsultant Haematologist · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- Can a mobile tower near the house cause blood cancer?
- Is tower radiation the same as X-ray radiation?
- What is actually known to raise the risk of blood cancer?
- What do people say about towers, and what is true?
- What can you do if a tower near home still worries you?
- What if someone in the family already has blood cancer?
- What do the words in tower news reports mean?
- Common questions about mobile towers and blood cancer
The short answer
Can a mobile tower near the house cause blood cancer?
No good evidence shows that mobile towers cause blood cancer. The radio waves they send out are weak, and they do not have enough energy to damage the genes inside blood cells. That kind of damage is what starts leukaemia.
Why the fear feels so real
A tower goes up on a neighbour's roof. A few months later someone in the lane is diagnosed with leukaemia. The two events sit side by side in memory, and a WhatsApp forward seems to join them. It is natural to look for a cause you can see. Blood cancers, though, usually take a long time to develop, and in most people no single cause is ever found. Towers have also spread to almost every street in Hyderabad and the districts. A cancer diagnosis anywhere is now likely to happen near a tower, simply because towers are everywhere.
What the large health bodies say
The World Health Organization and national cancer institutes have reviewed the research on towers and phones for many years. They have not found that the low exposure from towers causes cancer. Research continues, as it should for any technology this common.
This page covers towers. For phone use itself, see the separate guide on mobile phones and blood cancer.Two kinds of radiation
Is tower radiation the same as X-ray radiation?
Radio waves from towers and phones
Ionising radiation, such as X-rays
Low energy, called non-ionising
High energy, able to break genetic material
Same family as FM radio and TV signals
Same family as radiation from nuclear accidents
Main known effect at high levels is slight warming
High doses are a known cause of leukaemia
Weakens quickly with distance from the antenna
Medical doses are kept as low as possible
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistWhat the evidence does show
What is actually known to raise the risk of blood cancer?
These links are well established. Even so, most people with these exposures never develop leukaemia, and most people with leukaemia had none of them.
High doses of ionising radiation
Past radiotherapy, or exposure from a nuclear accident. Routine X-rays and scans give far smaller doses, and doctors order them only when needed.
Benzene and some chemicals
Benzene is found in petrol fumes, some industrial solvents and tobacco smoke. Long, heavy exposure at work raises the risk of some leukaemias.
Higher exposure in
- Some chemical and rubber industries
- Painters using solvent-based products
Earlier cancer treatment
Some chemotherapy drugs used for another cancer can, years later, raise the risk of a leukaemia. Doctors weigh this when planning treatment.
Smoking, age and some genetic conditions
Smoking is linked to acute myeloid leukaemia. Risk rises with age. Some inherited conditions, such as Down syndrome, also carry a higher risk.
Commonly believed
What do people say about towers, and what is true?
"Three people in our colony got cancer after the tower went up."
Cancer is common, and in any large colony several cases will appear close together by chance. Experts call this a cluster. When health authorities have studied such clusters, they have not found towers to be the cause.
"Living directly under the tower is the most dangerous spot."
Antennas send their signal outwards, not straight down. The area directly below usually gets less exposure than places some distance away, and levels in homes stay low.
"Children are getting leukaemia because of new 5G towers."
Childhood leukaemia was known long before mobile networks existed. No good evidence links 5G to it. The causes of most childhood leukaemias are still not fully understood.
"If we get the tower removed, our family will be protected."
Removing a tower does not lower blood cancer risk. Not smoking, avoiding heavy chemical exposure and seeing a doctor about lasting symptoms matter far more.
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If you are still worried
What can you do if a tower near home still worries you?
Check the official information
India's Department of Telecommunications runs the Tarang Sanchar portal. It shows towers in your area and whether they meet the set exposure limits. You can also ask for a measurement there.
Talk to the building or society
Ask for the operator's compliance papers. Operators must follow the limits set by the government, which are stricter than the international guidance.
Take real symptoms to a doctor
Tiredness, repeated fevers, easy bruising or bleeding gums need a doctor and a simple blood test, whether or not a tower is nearby.
Do not stop at the tower
Blaming a tower can delay the tests that matter. If a family member has worrying symptoms, get the blood count done first.
Being straight with you
What if someone in the family already has blood cancer?
Families often search for a cause after a diagnosis. That search comes from love and from guilt, and it is very common. In most cases no one and nothing can be blamed.
Did the tower or the phone cause it?
Based on current evidence, it is very unlikely. Moving house or throwing away phones will not change the course of the illness. It can add stress and cost at a time when the family needs both energy and money for treatment.
What matters now
The type of blood cancer, the right tests and starting treatment on time. Bring all reports to the haematologist. Ask what type it is, what the plan is, and what signs mean you should come to hospital the same day.
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you the cause of one person's illness, or rule out every future research finding. Science keeps checking. It can tell you that the present evidence does not support towers as a cause of blood cancer.
In the news
What do the words in tower news reports mean?
- Radiofrequency (RF) radiation
- The radio waves used by phones, towers, Wi-Fi and FM radio. Low energy.
- Non-ionising
- Not strong enough to break the genetic material inside cells.
- Possibly carcinogenic
- A label from the WHO's cancer research agency meaning the evidence is limited and not settled. The same group includes pickled vegetables and aloe vera extract.
- SAR
- A measure of how much radio energy the body takes in from a phone held close. It applies to handsets, not towers.
- Cancer cluster
- More cases than expected in one place or time. Most turn out to be chance.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about mobile towers and blood cancer
Is it safe to live next to a mobile tower?
Based on current evidence, yes. Exposure levels inside homes near towers are low and within the limits set by the government. Health bodies including the World Health Organization have not found that towers cause blood cancer. If you want reassurance for your own building, you can request a measurement through the official Tarang Sanchar portal.
Do mobile phones cause leukaemia?
No good evidence shows that phone use causes leukaemia or other blood cancers. Most research on phones has looked at brain tumours, and even there the findings are not settled. Our separate guide on mobile phones and blood cancer covers phone use, children and sensible habits in more detail.
Why did the WHO call radio waves possibly cancer-causing?
Its cancer research agency uses that label when evidence is limited and a link cannot be ruled out. It was based mostly on studies of very heavy phone use and brain tumours, not on towers or leukaemia. The label says the question is open, not that harm has been shown.
Are children more at risk from towers?
There is no good evidence that towers raise the risk of leukaemia in children. Childhood leukaemia existed long before mobile networks. If your child has repeated fevers, paleness, unusual bruising or bone pain, take them to a doctor for a blood test rather than worrying about the tower.
Does Wi-Fi at home cause blood cancer?
No. Wi-Fi routers use the same low-energy radio waves, at even lower power than phones. They do not damage the genes in blood cells. There is no need to switch the router off at night for cancer reasons.
What symptoms of blood cancer should we actually watch for?
Tiredness that does not go away, repeated infections or fevers, easy bruising, bleeding gums or nosebleeds, night sweats, weight loss without trying and swollen glands. These have many causes, most of them not cancer. A doctor and a complete blood count are the right first step.
Should we move house after a cancer diagnosis in the family?
Not because of a tower. Moving will not change the illness, and it can add cost and upheaval during treatment. Put that energy into getting the right tests, understanding the treatment plan and staying close to the treating hospital.
Who can explain our blood report?
A haematologist, a doctor who treats blood conditions. CION's haematology team can review the report, explain what it does and does not show, and advise on the next test if one is needed. Bring every report you have, including older ones, so changes over time can be seen.
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Dr. Basudev Pokhrel reviews blood counts, transfusion needs and blood disorders, and works with the CION tumour board on blood cancers.
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Sources
- WHO — Radiation: Electromagnetic fields
- National Cancer Institute — Cell Phones and Cancer Risk
- American Cancer Society — Cellular (Cell) Phone Towers
- Cancer Research UK — Causes of cancer
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
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