The following report well illustrates a concern I have had for many years and which, when expressed as a risk concern to medical people, is invariably cast aside as being of minimal risk, not worth worrying about. I have never believed that to be the case.

Even emergency room patients may be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of radiation from X-rays, CT scans, and other tests – often executed routinely without being initiated by a doctor – that may increase their risk of cancer in years to come. CT scans build up in the body over time and are not in any way expunged or excreted. Unlike conventional X-rays, which capture a single snapshot image, CT scanning generates a three-dimensional picture involving multiple X-ray images. CT scans deliver far more radiation than conventional X-rays — between 50 and 200 times as much.

Another vital aspect is that no-one, neither the patient, the doctor nor the radiologist, keeps a tab on the amount of radiation absorbed by these means over any given period of time. The rads received and absorbed during one or two visits to the same radiology unit are not recorded, so there is no hope for longer period, or lifetime, exposure recording. The radiologist and his staff, you will note, wear badges that record the amount of accidental exposure absorbed by the wearer. Not so the patient.

One study shows emergency room visitors received an average radiation dose of 45 millisieverts. However, 12% of patients in the study received 100 or more millisieverts of radiation during the five-year study period — a dose that exceeds the recommended safety limits and may increase the risk of cancer.

As you will note, there is a specific measurement denoting a dangerous level of exposure and the last time I checked my own exposure against the number of scans and x-rays I have had over the past 20 years or so, it indicated that I was many, many times above the minimal level of exposure considered to be a cancer risk. I have found that doctors, in general, have no understanding of this problem at all, or if they do, they wish not to openly question the existing protocols.

The following article from, Natural News, relates to more recent studies highlighted, yet again, the cancer risk of too much radiation from CT scan and the like…

CT Scans Raise Cancer Risk
Monday, April 06, 2009 by: Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor

(NaturalNews) A new study just published in the April issue of the medical journal Radiology has a sobering conclusion for anyone who thinks “non-invasive” CT scans are simply pain-free, high tech medical marvels with no downside. The research shows that people who undergo numerous computed tomography (CT) scans over their lifetime may be at a significantly increased risk of cancer.

See the full article at: Natural News

Today’s quote:

“Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.” William James

This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Informative Web-Sites, News Items, Prostate Cancer. 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.