What’s with all the CT and PET scans?
February 15, 2010 – 6:24 pmDoes this bother anyone but me?
My Mom, a breast cancer survivor, Â received 4 CT-scans in the past 6 months due to a minor whiplash injury.
Research just released from Berrington de Gonzalez of the National Cancer Institute found that of the 72 million CT scans performed in the United States in 2007, 29,000 cases will result in cancer. The authors project the most common radiation exposure-related cancers will be lung, colon and leukemia. Not surprising, whole-body PET scans deliver an even larger radiation dosage.
Wouldn’t mind so much if they’d just tell us beforehand….thoughts?
6 Responses to “What’s with all the CT and PET scans?”
Erik,
If you think this is bad, and it most definitely is, wait until the fallout occurs from the impending installation of full body scanners in our nation’s airports. (I believe some are already currently in use.) Tragically, there will be many more people getting cancers years later after their exposure to these powerful scanners.
Marion Hochberg
By Marion Hochberg on Feb 18, 2010
The medical profession is in moderate disarray. The beauty of the explosion of internet usage is that a lot of information is now popularly available (as is a lot of misinformation.) Not so long ago, doctors were unassailable tin gods- now, patients can go to them armed with information and aware of the choices. In the past, a lot of medicos have been just plain lazy – not keeping up with research or scientific development and using superceded techniques. One way that can make them seem like they know what they are doing and wrest back what they perceive as lost power in the doctor/ client relationship is to order a lot of specialized tests. Maybe there is an oversupply of radiologists and radiographers as well. Then of course there is also the ever present threat of litigation if they misdiagnose.
Funnily enough, I’ve recently done a lot of research on scoliosis- well, literature reviews as a precursor at any rate. Guess what? The body of evidence is a dog’s breakfast. One systematic review on manual therapy for scoliosis exists. It concludes that manual therapy is ineffective for scoliosis, on the basis of only 3 articles, all of which it admits are fatally flawed because they don’t consider stand alone manual therapy but manual therapy combined with other treatment modalities. But never let the evidence stand in the way of your prejudices – several articles since have kyboshed manual therapy on the basis of that review and orthopaedic surgeons now say “the evidence is that manual therapy is useless for scoliosis.”
So what do they recommend? Now you get into an orthopaedic turf war. Opinion in orthopaedic medicine is bitterly divided between surgery versus bracing. These are the only two consideration. And the best critics of each view are: the surgeons of each school of thought! The best criticism, backed up with research, of bracing comes from those that believe surgery is the only option, and the best criticism, backed up with research, of surgical interventions comes from those that believe orthoses are the better option. But don’t believe me- research it for yourself. A quick peruse of the Scoliosis Jounal and Spine will reveal just how weird it is out there in mainstream medicine.
By Colin Rossie on Mar 3, 2010
I forgot to add that there are thousands of scientific articles on surgery and bracing for scoliosis. Makes the sole 3 on manual therapy look meagre. The old maxim “absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence” springs to mind.
By Colin Rossie on Mar 3, 2010
Erik,
My mom is also a breast cancer survivor. She is 3 years out and as of now is cancer free. In the 3 years since diagnoses, she has had 3 cat scans, 2 pet scans and 2 full body MRI’s. Her markers keep coming back slightly elevated and every 6 months she goes through some scan to check for tumors. Let me add she also takes Tamoxifen, which also scares the bejeez out of me, as I can see how it is affecting her cognitively.
I worry not only about the cancer, but also all the radiation she has now received. I can’t help but wonder sometimes if the reoccurring cancer is actually caused not from mastication or if it is from the drugs, radiation treatment AND the radiation of check ups.
The patient is over a barrel, cancer is one of the scariest words that you can hear. Most will get the scans just for peace of mind though they know the dangers. Mom agonizes over this. ‘What if I don’t get the scan and cancer is there and grows and spreads between check ups?’ Then comes ‘what if all this radiation and dye cause the cancer to return?’ It is a horrible situation….
By Donna on May 26, 2010
Do you have any massages for the face you can share?If you have already where can I find the post.
By Kay on Jul 3, 2010
Good work, it is pleasure to read your interesting posts. Waiting for more
By bukmacher on Sep 27, 2010