The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found the carcinogen (1,4-dioxane) in 28% of all personal care products. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) found the same chemical in more than 40% of products labelled “natural.” This includes shampoos, soaps, and body firming and anti-aging lotions. Take note: The carcinogen (1,4-dioxane) isn’t listed on product labels. Aside from wanting to avoid exposure to potentially harmful chemicals during cancer treatment, natural products tend to be milder on the skin — which can become especially sensitive while undergoing rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. The European Union has outlawed 1328 product toxins, whereas the U.S. has banned a mere 30.

Given that cancer fighters and survivors are already in a tumultuous, high-risk state, they are also conscious of common toxic beauty ingredients that have been linked to cancer, such as polyethylene glycols, triclosans, and diethanolamine or DEA. Hormone and reproductive disrupting toxins, like parabens, BHA, and phthalates, are also a prime concern for people with estrogen receptive cancers.

Parabens are known to weakly mimic estrogen in certain situations which gained them the description “endocrine disruptor.” In 2004, the Journal of Applied Toxicology published a study in which researchers found parabens in breast cancer tissue.

In 2006, paper published by the International Association for the Research of Cancer (part of the World Health Organization), classified perennial use of talc based body powder as a human carcinogen.