If you didn’t already regret that lower back tattoo from spring break, you might after this: A study found tattoos might cause CANCER. (!!!)
Researchers in Sweden looked at 12,000 patients and found people with tattoos had a 21% higher risk for lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
They say the ink triggers an immune response and some of it gets deposited into your lymph nodes. They think the low-grade inflammation from it might be the cause, but they’re not sure.
They don’t expect people to stop getting inked up. They just want to figure out how to make the ink safer. They’re planning more studies to see if it’s linked to other types of cancer too.
They found the size of your tattoo might not even matter. People with small ones had the same increased risk as people with larger tattoos.
Around 2% of all Americans will develop lymphoma at some point in their life. The good news is it’s usually very treatable if you catch it early. (Either way, this guy is sweatin’ bullets right now.)
