Harvard Medical video: Radiation exposure and cancer risk from CT scans
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- čas přidán 16. 05. 2024
- An interview with Dr. Aaron Sodickson, a radiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Sodickson's research was the subject of an article in the March issue of the Harvard Health Letter. For more about the Health Letter, go to www.health.harvard.edu/newslet... .
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There is clearly an exceptionally high amount of electricity being used to operate these scanners. EMFs are also therefore a factor, seeing as the patient is literally sandwiched in the center, and even more so in an MRI scanner.
What about a Pet Scan?
and a Lung needle biopsy guided with Scan?
CT scans are over-prescribed, often grossly over-prescribed for a variety of reasons. I recently received a head C-span when I was in the hospital for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Under normal circumstances I would have refused the scan, but I was on my back in intensive care and worried.
How do you even know they're over-prescribed? If they were really worried about the radiation levels of CT scans, don't you think they would wall the room off with 2 feet thick walls of concrete to stop the X Rays? I have to work with patients getting CTs and the only thing standing between you and the machine is a window. lol
Same thing with me I also had to get one shortly before bc I had a kidney stone. So I got 2 ct scans the first one when I had a kidney stone the 2nd one to check up bc I still had pain in the area even after it was removed. then 3rd for the vertigo. All this happened back to back. So I've had 3 within 6 months. Each time I was just trying to find out what the hell was wrong I rlly fucking hope that's all I the ct scans I have to go thru and that is doesn't cause effects down the line cuz ik alotta these mfs lie. I just pray it wasn't enough to cause any long term damage down line. Please God🙏
@@infini_ryu9461The window is at a distance and lead particle coated The lead panel within the wall doesn't have to be two feet thick like a nuclear blast exposure A thin sheet is all that is needed
@@jaywitopeneyes43363 ct scan are not enough to increase the risk of developing cancer. You'd need at 8 or 9 to achieve the annual 100 mSv limit dose where it starts to increase tour chances of getting cancer.
dr Aaron Sodickson is a radiologist, that means his profession is to give these kind of exams. That means if the CT scans do cause cancer then he is out of a job or won't make as much $$.
Lol. Or maybe you're just wrong. A CT scan can tell you a lot about a patient and get them the help they need, the only adversity being the publics radiophobia. Yeah, of course he's going to advise CTs where necessary, they are necessary. duh.
"Cause cancer" Come on, how often do people go to a beach with black sand and wonder if the radioactive particles in it will cause them cancer? Of course they don't, because worrying about getting deadly levels of radiation is ridiculous, you'll never be exposed to it even if you tried.
@@infini_ryu9461 the problem isn't only with the dose of radiation but also that you receive the whole annual background radiation exposure in one single test instead of receiving it during the whole year!
@@user-jp4kk8ze2k But is an annual dose worth enough to give you cancer? The only studies that show any such thing is at a level of 100mSv--At that level you only see a 1/100 chance of getting cancer, compared to 48/100 for all other causes. A full body CT is far below that at 15-20mSv.
It's just not an efficient way to give someone cancer. We evolved in a radioactive environment, the body is capable of dealing with some radiation.
@@infini_ryu9461Funny example using a beach, most beach goers I know are having skin cancers removed in older age.
Unless you have internal bleeding or extreme pain or other symptoms that stop you from functioning in your daily life, a CT scan is 100% not necessary.
I have done both of my leg's ct scan one time. Could u tell me how much msv radition I have gone through! & I'm 21, is there any risks!
I'm wondering how doctors protect these CT scans, and ensure us that it is safe, while they hadn't have it to themselves.
They are killing people legally.
I m so worried I can't sleep and I can't feel comfortable to read this is the cause of cancer is it true???
How about a LDCT-Scan?
Well I’m screwed. Almost 90 since 2011. I have asked and asked and was lied to. Cancer runs in my family anyway. 60 during one stay at 3 day intervals trying to find where I was bleeding out. Ended in emergency surgery.
90 CT scans :(?! I had 7 and I'm worried too :/
Are you okay now though?
If you want to know if your CT scan is medically necessary, discuss it with the doctor who orders the scan or procedure. Don't wait til you're about to get the scan and then ask the operator to justify the scan to you. Only the doctor can do that; he or she is the one who ordered the scan and he or she only knows why.
And they're also the one that will lie about it. Get a second or third opinion.
@@StijnHommes In either case, decisions should not wait until the scan and certainly not be presented to the technologist. Second opinion is a good idea but don't wait til you are on the scanner to delay and stall the operator.
The ENT ordered a throat CT scan after a 20 second look with a fiber optic camera. He didn't say he saw anything unusual and right away said I needed a CT scan. I don't know how he could've looked at my CT scan history first. It was ordered on a Friday and is to be today Monday and it's 1AM and scan for 3PM. I'm thinking of calling and cancelling until I know more. I learned it's a $3,000 scan and so probably something they like to do. I had a chest CT scan 5 yrs ago at the same clinic and another chest CT scan I refused to do. Even then the Dr complained saying she'd have to cancel it... so they ordered it even before asking me first, wow! Any advice let me know!
You're right. CT is certainly a cash-cow for hospitals.
Don’t do it ❤
@@elendilnz Hi Elendilnz! Thank you for taking your own time to warn me. Sadly I had the scan and now my salivary glands shut down. I think it was from so much radiation from the CT scan, plus I had several problems with my teeth and had many x-rays then on to an Endodontist who used a special 3D type of x-ray. Anyways, I just pray my salivary glands start to function again. I even on my own, not by the ENT who was so quick to call for the CT scan, did some research and strange even unto myself that I never considered the obvious as to why I had a sore throat for 30 days. I have long had "esophagal reflux" meaning the valve at the top of my stomach doesn't function and if I'm not careful acid from my stomach can cause repeated heart burn and also effect my vocal chords as also my voice was strange. So besides the CT scan he prescribed I see a speech pathologist too.
I canceled the speech pathologist and changed my position when sleeping so acid would not come up my throat and solved the problem myself. My reflux was all well documented and very visible to any devoted ENT who would have properly reviewed my chart, but not this ENT! I know this is so because I was in ER for chest pain and the ER doctor asked me if I wanted a CT scan of my heart. I said no and she grimaced and said, "Now I have to call imaging and cancel your CT scan." Wow she made an appointment before she even asked me!
They push I think, at least some of the doctors, to rack up the bill and keep the imaging dept going. A Rheumatologist called for 12 x-rays of my hands that didn't prove a thing other than I have the start of osteoarthritis that most elderly end up getting! So with my throat... I diagnosed and resolved my problem on my own! I never complained but will not ever go back to that doctor again.
I don't own a car and sometimes my salivary glands will barely start to work when I'm commuting by bicycle and exerting myself, yet I read that salivary glands will naturally produce more when intensely exercising. They prescribed more pills as usual, pilocarpine, which I'm holding off on and praying my salivary glands start to function again.
I even previously told my internist doctor I felt a swelling along my jaw line and he felt and just passed it off, my Rheumy too... Then months later along came my "xerostomia" and it's miserable especially for me being a bike commuter and also having CPAP machine at night. When I ride now my throat gets terribly dry and I have to stop to drink water even more than I used to.
I awaken with extreme dry mouth and my tongue sticking to my teeth and roof of my mouth and sometimes even my "Adam's Apple" or larynx will stick to my throat. I'll have to hold on trying to swallow and get water ASAP as I'm afraid my larynx sticking could tear the inside of my throat. I keep the pilocarpine on hand but it's depressing as it's another of my list of pills.
Even now there is some trace of saliva forming and I just pray my salivary glands start in and avoid the pills. So far sadly after a year, my xerostomia still persists and they tell me that it won't ever resolve. I feel those same swollen salivary glands along my jaw line and they are still obviously there and two doctors not feeling it. You have to be your own best advocate in the medical industry. I know as I see people in my Senior building who are not cognizant to things and I feel they die much sooner.
I took care of my mother and went to all of her appointments and feel she had more quality years in aging because I was alert to her needs and asked the right questions etc. I hope you learn from this and really think twice when told you need imaging. Sorry it is so long, but I feel I had to express myself. I'm also hoping others see this in time before they allow imaging etc. I didn't learn and here I am... and also finding I have Chronic Kidney Disease... another story of blatant neglect I should have stayed on top of. I mean imaging is necessary some times but I really think doctors can push to rack up the bill more. Even one Mayo Clinic doctor told me she doesn't like the doctors who call for blood labs and they own the very blood labs they are patronizing.
@@mwj5368 😢. How are u today sir
@@fumiyafuse6374Hi! Thanks for asking. The outcome was I on my own accord figured out why I had a sore throat for 30 days. That ENT ordered the CT scan and I decided to go through with it because I didn't really know and wondered if cancer was happening etc.
More appointments followed leading to nowhere. I did more reading and it dawned on me that I have had acid reflux for decades, plus it's obvious in my medical chart. I read that acid reflux can create such a sore throat. I think it caused overall inflammation as I always had phlegm around my vocal cords, a problem with my singing.
That ENT never even hinted at that problem. I didn't complain and hope to never go back to him. I purchased a $200 set of 4 pillows that are amazing in the ways you can arrange them. I have ever since used those pillows and sleep quite upright and corrected the problem myself. One must be their own best advocate in the health care industry.
Why don’t they recommend things to reduce radiation in the body after the exposure.
They do not care and are truly under educated on how much radiation damage they are doing to people. Most people would not get a ct scan if they knew how much radiation these ct scans emit. You can get great images with an mri or ultrasound but they don't want to tell you that. Corrupt as hell
Because it's not in their interest you to be healthy or recover , they got the money, and are waiting you again for it, with cancer maybe next time. My daughter stood in a hospital for three days and the doctors ordered over 8 x-rays I believe, 5 or 6 of them I believe were unnecessary but the did that because of ignorance, because they simply don't care about you or your kid at all
@@gheorgheneaga7082 It's true. People forget that doctors and dentists are people like everyone else, and that they have bills to pay. If you don't need them anymore, they are screwed out of their livelihood. If they made people healthy, there would be no "repeat business". This is why the most important thing of all is to find a docotr that belongs to that rare 5% of doctors that went into medical school because they wanted to heal people and not to make money. The kind of doctor that accepts a modest livelihood because their patients only see them once in years since they are so healthy. A doctor like this would almost never prescribe a CT scan. He would only prescribe one in a life-or-death situation where you suffered a car crash and you are all mangled inside and doctors need to see all your bones and organs to save your life. A doctor like that would prescribe a CT scan like 1 or 2 times, maybe 3 times tops in a 40 year career. But doctors and hospitals make a lot of money with CT scans. They care one biit about *significantly* increasing your risk of cancer, acelerated ageing and even brain damage by exposing you to massive amounts of radiation. They are trash humans. It's really depressing that even the people encharged with taking care of our health are cold-blooded mercenaries that only want $$$$. Scary and depressing.
@@gheorgheneaga7082 don't worry about xrays they are not as Dangerous as ct scans
Like what?
woooow, that was kind of scarry to hear him say that some DRs will put their patients at high risk of developing cancer. I feel like DRs shoud start trying other methods to achieve the same result from a safer test.
I agree doctors should reduce risks, and obviously that means not performing unnecessary tests, but which would you prefer - a quick check in a CT scanner, or a few hours on an operating table whilst a surgeon pokes around inside you to see if he can find out what's wrong with you?
Yes, a CT scan does have risks, but most of the alternatives have risks too. Different risks. But risks. Would you rather die of a cancer that went undiagnosed because you didn't have a CT; or take the small risk of a potential cancer to catch a suspected cancer early? It's a balancing act.
In many cases an MRI may be a safer alternative; but it's slower, significantly more expensive, less widely available, louder, and more likely to induce claustrophobia; and some patients can't use it due to metal implants...
Exactly! - so is the problem of being potentially sick. It involves risk, and we hope, as doctors, we choose the options of least cummulated risk
Defensive medicine is there primary concern, not your health
I feel terrible because i let them try to get an abdominal ct scan of my 2 year old twice in one night and he had an x ray that night aswell. I wasnt aware of the risks and now i feel like ive put him at risk for absolutely no reason because he moved during the scans so they didnt even get a clear picture
We need to raise voice about this issue. Not informing about risk is a crime. Human being is terrible. They are evil to children.
Dear all
This is important please answer me.
I recently did CT abdominal + pelvis with and Without contrast.
As per doctor he used 1413 Mgy-cm Radiation to me.
Means how much Msv Radiation i received exactly?
Please help me to get answer 😢
Thanks !!!
Are you ok? I'm wondering the same thing, I went in for a stomach pain and they ordered a CT scan, in my moment of distress and anxiety and it hit and did it despite my initial gut feeling to say no, not till a day or two after that I realized they should have done an ultrasound, they just did it so they can charge my insurance money.
@@cptmuffy same thing for ,e 😕
are you okay
They can tell you that. I suffered from radiation sickness after my ct scan. I reckomend never getting a ct scan again. The machine could malfunction and microwave your insides and make you very sick otherwise called cellular necrosis.
How r you now?
I guess u r from India?
This is flawed... he mentioned nothing of accounting for the patients pre-existing risk for cancer. If a patient is already high risk for cancer dues to family history for example, then a CT scan becomes mush more risky.
However, depending on the presenting symptoms, so does the patients risk of having cancer (and missing it by not doing the CT)
It’s a 0.05 percent chance
200 times more than a chest X-ray
Jane Roth one !!!!! Cat scan equals 500 chest X-rays
@@MissChrissyM1 😳😳
@@MissChrissyM1 500x nothing is still barely anything, though. lmao.
A CT scan is about equivalent to an international flight. Yet people have no problems flying everywhere.
@@infini_ryu9461
Your incorrect. A international flight is equal to a chest x Ray. A CT scan is 200 to 500 times greater.
@@infini_ryu9461your statement is funnily wrong, proving you do not know what you are talking about.
Decades ago, the three words for radiation reduction were: "time, distance, and shielding". Now, it should be "avoid unnecessary referrals" because EVERYONE gets a CT scan, and for the silliest reasons.
The task of physicians is to irradiate as many people as possible in order to conduct a longitudinal study for all possible risks.
@@GarryDillan No, it's to generate as much revenue for hospitals as possible.
It is easy to say to avoid it if you can but most people do not know that CT scans are dangerous. This doctor says the chances of getting cancer is tiny from getting CT scans however The National Cancer institute says that 1 CT will give you a 1 in 2,000 chance of getting cancer. So is this guy telling the truth or lieing?
Alex Rivera the latter !!!! Lying like a goddam rug. Obvioussssss
Go away bald ugly man.
It's stochastic....there may be a risk but depends upon a lot of variables; too numerous to mention here. Suffice it to say that when all is said and done, YOU are you. Optimize your own health and take supplements that may aid in the maintenance and repair of cellular damage. Diet and vigorous exercise are key. If you are doing all that you can mentally, physically, and spiritually to conquer the beast, it can trigger new pathways in the healing process. If you place your faith and trust in God above, you will know that all things are possible. Nothing good can ever come from living in a state of anxiety and fear. (I know...been there...done that!) If you want to be the best that you can be....Walk in "The Light" and let it shine from your inner core. Let it shine and it will banish all that is threatening to throw you off course and pull you down.
Im scared. Ive had about 5 in my life. Done with it
I'm freaking out now
Praying for your health in Jesus name just for my first 1
Uhh yeah 15 here. I'm 22. Enjoy life. That's all u can do.
I had 1 in my life! Noooooooooo
I had 2 scans for a minor head bump. Doctors are very quick on ordering CT to make you disappear. Trust me best doctor is yourself. Never again man. I felt sick after the second time, worried.
CT radiation is not good for the body.
MRIs are effective and do not use radiation.
MRI is even worse than CT scan. Its strong magnetic field that affects heart, vessels, endocryn and nerve system severely. You just werent warned my dr that its same ionizing exposure, otherwise people wont do MRI. Its.business.
1 MRI equels 500 chest X-rays, done in 15 min. Its insane dosage of radiation
Doctors would not be sued if they order ct scan but if they do not order one and patients got something wrong they would be sued. That is the best explanation for the reason why they order ct scans so easily. Being a doctor is a job only. Yes they can do it to adults, but doing it to children? Karma will wait for them.
I had a CT scan and now I have dry and dry mouth and ear ache so never ever go for it unless it’s a life and death situation
انا البارحه عملت واحد وسنة ٢٠١٨ عملت واحد
did you get cancer? i’m 12 and i got a ct scan a few days ago and i’m freaking out
No I am feeling fine now and Thanks God I feel much better than before. Just don't worry and you will be fine as you are quite young but don't go for it again unless there is no other option.
I have 2 CT kub plain.1 before 4 mnths and secnd before a few days should i m worried
it makes my eyeballs hurt when i get a ct scan
38 CT scans for one person holy fuck and that person is still alive!?!?
Well yes. X Ray machines aren't as powerful, but the average person is exposed to levels of radiation each year equivalent to dozens of X rays. That's just in the environment. Some people are exposed to much greater levels and are just fine. Yet the public fears even just 1 X Ray.
If you've ever worked around X Rays and CTs, you'll notice the "protection" is really rather lousy, because the experts know they're virtually harmless. You get told to stand outside yet all the "protection" between you and the machine is a window. That's not nearly enough to stop X Rays.
The only reason medical professionals care about this at all is because of politics and radiophobia in the general public, not because they're actually worried they're going to give someone cancer. Radiation is a lousy way to cause cancer.
@@infini_ryu9461 interesting what you say but still there is a risk and how to calculate it ? I had 6 CT abdominal scan within 3 years and IAM really worried about damage done too the DNA specially that everywhere I hear that there is nothing I can do to reverse or minimise that damage
@@sami-pe1no Your body certainly does heal from radiation, your cells contain a copy of your DNA and new cells will replace any that are damaged. Your body is pummelled by radiation from virtually everywhere--The ground, the sun, the cosmic background radiation, the food you eat, even from inside your own body. Your body must deal with that constantly, and does.
Some parts of the world where people live are several times higher in radiation than others because of elevation and/or argon gas and uranium, but we don't see any increase in cancers. If your body is being pummelled by radiation that it simply cannot deal with it will start to burn, much the same way heat(infrared radiation) will burn you, and if your body becomes so burned it will simply give out.
I believe that if the radiation were to give you cancer, you'd know about it by now. And cancer is very common, 1 in 2 people will develop cancer in their lifetimes, so it's not a guarantee if you got it it would even be from those CT scans. Cancers are caused when your body makes a mistake and the cancerous cell begins to cannibalise it's neighbours.
Radiation is such an inconsistent, and rather lousy, way to cause cancer that no one could really say how likely it is you'll get cancer from it, only that you'll probably get it anyway if you live to a ripe old age.
As for intergenerational birth defects, there's no conclusive evidence that it causes them at all at such low levels. That whole thing was concocted by journalists who are as ignorant of radiation as anybody else. If anything you'd have to get walloped by the core of Chernobyl to get any kind of defect so severe in your offspring. There are some studies done to try and induce changes in DNA with mice, but it's so utterly random and inconsistent, and requires a lot of radiation, so I think you'll be fine on that front.
@@infini_ryu9461 I know what you mean that we are surrounded by radiation constantly .,.. but CT scan give a much bigger amount in a very short time specially the Abdominal one wish I had 6 ... One is equivalent of 2 years natural radiation background so 6×2= 12 years of radiation within 3 years ....I still worry of the effect on the DNA ... IAM specially upset at doctor who don't really explain the risks .... And like you said yes we are anyway all at Risk of getting cancer in our life but we don't need to add more risks ... IAM sure there is way to clean that radiation from the body like clay or zeolite bath .... I was furious and I spoke with my radiologist he said that I could have 30 abdominal CT before To trigger a real risk of cancer well I think either is a lier or crazy 🤔 , thanks for your clarification Mate !
@@sami-pe1no To put it into perspective, you get 30-40x background radiation from plane flights. I guess you could say any level of radiation above normal increases your risk, but then you're far more likely to die in a car crash than get cancer from radiation, even before assuming that there is a threshold before radiation could be considered harmful.
All doctors reckomend these out of defensive medicine
Go check on those same folks 10 years later.
I suspect no one really knows if CT scans cause cancer or not - not specialists, not doctors, not patients, not anyone. A causal link is difficult to show because of the time lapse and the many variables involved. Professionals use the scientific uncertainty to offer patients reassurance which may not be warranted. However, one thing we do know is that official 'safe' levels of X-radiation have been reducing over the years which suggests that it might be wise to err on the side of caution . . .
You mean avoid it if possible?
Reduced??
I had 2 head CT scans in the emergency hospital after the accident and I got 1400 DPI (or 65 mGy) for each one. So it is about 3 mSv per each scan. While typical head CT must be 1-2 mSv.
Do Not Do CT … ever
Discusting.
Lumbar CT scans can cause infertility..regardless what the Dr. says!!! Over done and great profit for the hospital. What ever happened to 'do no harm'???