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Evidence of cancer from medical radiation

The real trouble arises when an individual undergoes multiple tests or procedures,”  ……the number of radiation-based tests and procedures each patient undergoes should be tracked in order to estimate their cumulative radiation dose.

Radiation from medical tests linked to cancer risk: Canadian researchers By Sharon Kirkey, Postmedia News February 7, 2011 Canadian researchers appear to have proven what, until now, had only been assumed: radiation from widely-used medical tests can increase the risk of cancer.

Montreal doctors who followed nearly 83,000 heart attack victims for five years found that exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation from common tests used to diagnose and treat heart problems are associated with an increased risk of cancer…….Although most of those in the study were exposed to low or moderate radiation doses, a substantial number were exposed to high levels. And younger patients — not older ones — were more likely to be exposed to higher doses of radiation…………The real trouble arises when an individual undergoes multiple tests or procedures,” they said……the number of radiation-based tests and procedures each patient undergoes should be tracked in order to estimate their cumulative radiation dose.

“Nobody is keeping track of the level of radiation that patients are exposed to,”……The use of CT scans and other tests that use radiation is increasing in Canada and exploding in the United States. One in 10 Canadians surveyed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in 2009 said they had paid out-of-pocket (or their employer had) for a CT scan of their lungs, heart or entire body, even though they had no symptoms of a health problem; 61 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they would take a free full-body CT over $1,000 cash……Radiation from medical tests linked to cancer risk: Canadian researchers

February 8, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA