Reading the Fine Print: Why Ingredient Awareness Matters After Cancer

Cancer has a way of changing how you look at the world. After diagnosis, treatment, and the long road of survivorship, everyday things no longer feel quite so everyday. You start noticing what you eat, what you breathe, and what you put on your body. For me, one of the most unsettling realizations has been how many products we use daily, makeup, skincare, toothpaste, packaged foods, that contain ingredients we barely recognize, much less understand.

Take titanium dioxide, for example. It’s an ingredient found in everything from foundation and sunscreen to candies, coffee creamers, and chewing gum. It’s used to make products appear brighter, whiter, and more visually appealing. On the surface, that sounds harmless. But when I first stumbled across it while reading ingredient labels, I paused, not because I knew exactly what it was, but because I didn’t.

That pause has stayed with me.

Titanium dioxide is a naturally occurring mineral, but in many consumer products, it’s processed into a very fine powder. In some cases, it’s used in nanoparticle form, meaning the particles are small enough to potentially interact with the body in ways we don’t fully understand yet. Various studies have raised concerns about how it behaves when inhaled or ingested over time. While regulatory agencies in some countries still allow its use, others have begun to restrict or ban it in foods, citing uncertainties around long-term safety.

For someone who has already had cancer, “uncertainty” is not a comfortable word.

I don’t claim to be a scientist, and I’m not writing this to scare anyone. But as a cancer survivor, and as a mother and grandmother, I’ve learned that awareness matters. We live in a world saturated with synthetic ingredients, many of them difficult to pronounce and even harder to evaluate. The truth is most of us don’t read labels carefully. I know I don’t always. Convenience, habit, cost, and simple exhaustion often win out.

But survivorship has a way of whispering (and sometimes shouting), “Pay attention!”

Our skin is our largest organ. What we apply to it doesn’t just sit there; it can be absorbed. Makeup, lotions, shampoos, and sunscreens often contain long lists of preservatives, stabilizers, dyes, and fillers designed to improve shelf life or appearance. Individually, these ingredients may be present in small amounts. Collectively, over years and decades, the exposure adds up. This is sometimes referred to as the “cocktail effect,” the idea that while a single ingredient may appear safe on its own, the combination of many chemicals interacting in the body is still largely unknown.

Food presents another layer of concern. Highly processed items often contain additives meant to enhance color, texture, or flavor. Titanium dioxide has historically been used to make foods look more appealing, especially to children. That’s the part that gives me pause as a grandmother. Our kids and grandkids are still growing. Their bodies are forming, developing, and learning how to detoxify and defend themselves. If we can reduce unnecessary exposures, shouldn’t we try? I wish I’d taken the hint from my grandparents to opt for simple things like baking soda and water mixed into a paste to brush my teeth. Back then, they didn’t deal with complicated ingredients in products like we do today.

I’ll be honest: I feel some guilt here. I didn’t always take the time to read labels before my cancer diagnosis. Like many people, I trusted that if something was on a store shelf, it must be safe. Cancer has a way of dismantling that assumption. When you’ve already faced the fear of recurrence, prevention becomes deeply personal. It’s no longer about trends or “clean living” buzzwords; it’s about stewardship of the body you fought so hard to heal.

That doesn’t mean perfection. It means intention.

Reading ingredient lists doesn’t require a chemistry degree. A good rule of thumb I’ve learned is this: if most of the ingredients are familiar, that’s a good sign. If the list reads like a science experiment and you can’t pronounce half of it, that might be worth a second thought. Choosing products with fewer ingredients, or those that are transparent about sourcing and safety testing, can be a meaningful step, even if you can’t change everything at once.

It’s also important to remember that stress itself is harmful. The goal is not fear, but empowerment. Small changes matter. Switching one product at a time matters. Asking questions matters. Teaching our children and grandchildren that their bodies are worth protecting matters.

Cancer took many things from me, but it also gave me clarity. I no longer want to live on autopilot when it comes to my health. I want to be present, informed, and engaged, even when it’s inconvenient. Especially then.

We can’t control every exposure in our environment. But we can control some of what we bring into our homes, put on our skin, and feed our families. For survivors, that sense of agency can be healing in itself.

Reading the fine print may feel like a small act, but sometimes small acts are how we reclaim our power, one ingredient, one choice, one hopeful step at a time.

This piece reflects the author’s personal experience and perspective. For medical advice, please consult your health care provider.

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