G’day guys.

Cancer causing CT scans have been of major concern to me for many a year. I have averaged 1.5 CT scans each year for the past ten despite knowing of the dangers. I do try to weigh up rationale, for and against, and also, what alternatives might be available to me. On that basis, I have on occasions, declined to have one. I include X-rays in the same context.

There is a general belief that doctors often order X-rays as protection against malpractice claims. It appears that in this highly litigious society, some doctors are putting their own fears before the interests of their patients.

Something thing that has always disturbed me about this is that firstly, doctors do not appear to be aware of the dangers or simply choose to ignore it and secondly, why do patients, particularly those with chronic illnesses and/or frequent exposure to radiation in its various forms, not get issued with a rad detecting badge that would measure and record exposures? Would the long term benefits not out-way the cost?

I recall reading, some time ago, about one Dr. Gofman, a PhD in nuclear and physical chemistry and a medical doctor, who has been studying the effects of radiation on human health for many years. He has published a number of scientifically documented books totaling some 3000 pages on the subject and provides strong evidence that medical technology; specifically X-rays, CT scans, mammography, and fluoroscopy, are a contributing factor to 75 percent of new cancers.

Furthermore, Dr. Gofman predicts that over the next decade, 100 million premature deaths will occur as the result of ionizing radiation.

From my own perspective, some years ago I recall researching this aspect and after totaling all the radiation I had endured over a ten year period - keeping in mind that radiation accumulates in the body over time - and comparing that to what was considered to be a safe exposure dose, I was over the top by some ridiculous amount. The details are hazy at the moment but I
may well do the exercise again for the hell of it. I’ll let you know.

Meanwhile, enjoy the article below…

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 by: David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) A surge in the use of CT scans in the last 25 years has led to millions of patients per year being unnecessarily exposed to dangerous radiation that increases their risk of cancer, according to a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“It has been estimated that about 0.4 percent of all cancers in the United States may be attributable to the radiation from CT studies,” the authors wrote. Because cancer can take a decade to appear, “this estimate might now be in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 percent” when adjusted for the current level of CT use.

Click below for the full article from NaturalNews:

http://www.naturalnews.com:80/023639.html

This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 9:30 am and is filed under Doctor's are Dangerous, Informative Web-Sites, News Items. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.