CT Scans make increase cancer risk |
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A
recent study confirmed what was suspected - that some tests may
actually increase the risk of cancer. One of these tests is the CT scan.
The study was conducted at the UCSF. According to this study, a CT scan at "effective dosage" delivers the same amount of radiation as 74 mammograms (and a mammogram delivers 1000 x the radiation of a chest x-ray). The researchers estimated that 1 in 274 women gets CANCER FROM the CT scan used in an angiogram (1 in 610 men). For some reason, the risks involved with a CT brain scan are significantly less... 1 in 8100 for women and 1 in 11,000 for men. They noted that the cancer risks were twice as high for men and women in their 20's having CT scans. The number of CT scans has risen from 3 million a year to 70 million a year, the researchers said. The technology has improved greatly since the 1980's - for one thing the scans can be done more quickly but this, according to the researchers, has been a double edged sword because it has encouraged medical providers to order multiple scans - thus again delivering more radiation. And this study also found that the doses of radiation vary between hospitals. They suggested some type of standardization on the amount of radiation delivered and also lowering the amount of radiation delivered. The Mammogram is another test which is acknowledged by medical
providers to increase the risk of breast cancer - it delivers 1000 times
the radiation of a chest X-ray. Recently it has come under a lot of
questioning because it can deliver as high as 95 percent false positives
which can lead not only to anxiety but repeated mammograms (delivering
MORE radiation) and invasive procedures like biopsies. Many medical
providers have opined that since we cannot really find early breast
cancer, women are better off doing the non invasive self breast exam.
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