"How bad are cell phones for ones health? I was thinking of getting one but haven't because I am unsure if it is worth the risk."

All radiation exposure is bad, but some types are much worse than others. You must decide for yourself what is an acceptable risk for you. We use cellular phones ourselves, and we feel that we are at an extremely low risk of developing brain cancer with our current lifestyle. The big risk is not from the phones, but from the radio towers. Having one located nearby is a cause for concern, as are other sources of high radiation, such as high-voltage power lines. Most people now get their most dangerous radiation exposure from the new CFL ("energy efficient") light bulbs, high-frequency televisions (especially the plasma type), radioactive (high phosphate) fertilizers, radioactive tobacco smoke from those radioactive fertilizers, fluoride, irradiated foods such as "cold pasteurized" mayonnaise, smoke detectors, and fluorescent light bulbs. The biggest radiation threat is the fact that you probably have a nuclear power plant somewhere in your state that could eradicate about half of your state's population in a matter of hours and make the survivors wish they were dead.