<s>[INST] Im 12 right now and my mother has been making me pancakes in a teflon pan for some years now. and they taste horrible. iv been geting stomach pains every morning at school from eating them. iv been hearing that teflon gives you cancer recently. even my science teacher said that teflon coated pans are terrible for people if they start chipping. How can I know if iv gotten cancer from teflon? [/INST] Hi, Thanks for writing in. The material used in Teflon coating is not carcinogenic. It is safe to cook using FDA certified Teflon coated utensils and cookware. The Teflon cookware requires to be handled with care and should not have any scratches when cleaning so that the coating is ingested. If the Teflon coating is breaking in places and coming out then please discard the cookware and use a new one. Slight taste differences might be there in Teflon coated cooking. When you purchase new cookware please take note that it has passed quality check and FDA standards. Please use wooden label and avoid scratching the Teflon coating. Please do not worry. </s>