Freaking out about CT scans

[Only me]

I knew that CT scans were probably not the best for you but recently I've read a few articles that state that they are downright dangerous. They give you as much radiation as 300 regular x-rays and if you get even one your risk of cancer greatly increases.

 

My 14 year old daughter has had 4 CT scans already (3 brain and 1 on her knee). Now I'm completely panicking that she will develop cancer. Is there anything that I can do nutritionally or otherwise to help improve the chances that she won't get cancer?

[Tree House Academy]

It is kind of like the way that smoking makes you more likely to have lung cancer. There is nothing to say that your dd will or will not develop cancer and if she does, it may or may not be from the CT scans. My ds was 3 when he had a head CT and I would be lying if I said that the same worry hasn't crossed my mind. However, this is one of those cases where we just can't do anything about it now, so why worry? You can't stop cancer from developing...no matter what you do. Sure, give her vitamins and offer good, nutritional foods. At the end of the day, this is just not in your control. I am Christian, and I feel it is "in God's Hands." I am not sure what your beliefs are, but I would think that, no matter what you believe, the concept of "we are not in control of this" is the same.

 

*hugs*

Edited March 12, 2010 by Tree House Academy

[gaillardia]

I didn't know they were considered dangerous, but I don't feel good about having one done. So, I didn't have one done. I am handling a lymphatic issue with herbs and it is working. The scan without insurance was going to cost $700! I was concerned about what they would have me drink or what they would shoot into me as well. Isotopes, radiation, perfectly safe?:glare:

[Mommyof4ks]

I have a friend with a little girl who is a neuroblastoma survivor, and she had had many many CT scans in her life. She had cancer at birth with no radiation exposure, and she has not had it reoccur in 3 years. My son has taken chemotherapy for 3 years that lists cancer as a side effect. If these kids get cancer again could it be from tests and meds or is it because they are already prone to cancer? No one knows.

 

Eat foods that are high in antioxidants, and check out nutritional information on http://www.cancer.org (there is a bookstore section on the website). There is some question as to how much we should artificially boost our immune system and what that might do to our risk for cancer and other diseases, so do be careful when looking for info.

 

Just as an aside research shows that viruses play a role in some cancers and may play a role in many others, so one of the best things we can do is wash our hands, eat a healthy diet and get enough sleep so we don't get sick.

[Perry]

I knew that CT scans were probably not the best for you but recently I've read a few articles that state that they are downright dangerous. They give you as much radiation as 300 regular x-rays and if you get even one your risk of cancer greatly increases.

 

My 14 year old daughter has had 4 CT scans already (3 brain and 1 on her knee). Now I'm completely panicking that she will develop cancer. Is there anything that I can do nutritionally or otherwise to help improve the chances that she won't get cancer?

 

Here is some information that may help put things in perspective.

 

There have been a couple recent studies that measured how much radiation patients receive from CT scans, and then use mathematical modeling to predict how many additional cases of cancer would result.

One of the studies, which examined more than 1,000 adult patients at four hospitals, projected that the dose of radiation received in a single heart scan at age 40 would later result in cancer in 1 in 270 women and 1 in 600 men.

Risks were lower for those who received a head CT scan: 1 in 8,100 women and 1 in 11,080 men would likely develop cancer from the radiation, the study said.

 

Current lifetime risk of cancer (all causes) is about 40%. IOW, about 40% of Americans will develop cancer sometime during their life. So of those 270 women, you would expect about 108 (270*.4 = 108) cases of cancer to occur anyway. So one additional case isn’t much, compared to the background rate. (I haven’t read the original study, so I don’t know what kinds of cancer they predicted as a result of the heart scan. If they limited it to chest and abdominal cancers, you’d expect less than 108.)

 

Lifetime risk of brain cancer is about .6%. or 6/1000. So in a population of 8,100 women, you would expect about 49 of them to develop brain cancer at some time in their life (8100*.006=48.6).

This study would predict one additional case beyond the background cases due to the CT scan radiation, or 50 instead of 49.

 

 

I am not trying to minimize the risks. The scans can, and absolutely should, be made safer. I wouldn’t get a CT unless I felt it was absolutely medically necessary. BUT, the absolute risk to any individual is very, very small, and when compared to the background rates will account for only a very small proportion of cases.

 

HTH

Edited March 20, 2010 by Perry