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Increased cancer risk from low dose ionising radiation

Cancer — Is Low-Dose Radiation Imaging Increasing Your Risk?

EmpowerHER 2 Feb 2010 by Lynette Summerill A trip to your doctor or dentist usually means you will be examined from the inside out. But, low-dose radiation like that used in x-rays, mammograms and other diagnostic tests could be causing some cancers.

There is enough concern that researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center are now incorporating radiation dose exposure reports into their electronic medical records…….

“The cancer risk from low-dose medical radiation tests is largely unknown. Yet it is clear that the U.S. population is increasingly being exposed to more diagnostic-test-derived ionizing radiation than in the past,” said David A. Bluemke, MD, lead author of the article and director of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at the NIH Clinical Center.

Dr. Bluemke notes one widely publicized appraisal of medical radiation exposure suggested that about 1.5 to 2 percent of all cancers in the USA might be caused by the clinical use of CT alone……..

Within the next few months, software should be available for patients to maintain their own electronic medical records, so even if the radiation reporting system isn’t adopted industry-wide, patients can ensure their own records of such medical procedures are kept for future reference.

Cancer — Is Low-Dose Radiation Imaging Increasing Your Risk? | EmpowHER – Women’s Health Online

February 3, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, radiation, radioactive