CT Scans and Cancer Risk

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Certainly something to think about. I have had 1 CT scan and refused all others. Mine was required before the Doctor would perform a proceedure.

The frequency with which XRays are prescribed in so many Medical Fields is alarming to me. Every time I go to the dentist they want to shoot new films. I went to an Oral Surgeon for TMJ evaluation and they shot me 3 times because the Tech kept screwing up. I had a chest Xray that had to be redone because the Tech didn't size the equipment properly.

I'm not an idiot, I understand radiation and the effects. I don't need another graduate from the South County School of Medical Helpers to tell me that Xrays are "low risk" and I'm only getting as much exposure as you would get on an airline flight.

The bottom line is sometimes they are necessary, and CT Scans blast you so much harder than regular XRays or even Flouroscopy. But it's your job to weigh your own risk potential after you educate yourself.

Exactly how much radiation is too much? Because CT scans came into vogue in the 1980s and radiation-induced cancer takes roughly 20 years to develop, long-term studies of CT scans and cancer are still under way. But scientists are already anticipating future health implications. Indeed, researchers found a population of 25,000 Japanese post-atomic-bomb survivors who were exposed to roughly the same amount of radiation as two CT scans. Based in part on those studies, the Food and Drug Administration estimates that an adult's lifetime risk of developing radiation-induced cancer from a CT scan is roughly 1 in 2,000. Worse, the risk for children is even higher.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2008063...rousarectscans