I am 23/male and in the last 2 months I have gotten 6 plain film x-rays of the pelvic region, 2 abdominal CT scans, and 1 head CT scan. All the results came back satisfactory. I am concerned about the vast amount of radiation I have received recently. I feel like I have compromised my health. Am I going to develop cancer now? Am I possibly going to develop cancer or leukemia down the road? Thanks.
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
I estimate your total radiation exposure from these examinations to be about 35 mSV.
This means you have received a dose of radiation from the medical examinations that is comparable to about 15 years of background radiation (radiation from cosmic and terrestrial sources that we are exposed to all the time anyway).
Considering your young age at the time of exposure, the risk for developing fatal cancer from these examinations would be around 1/500, or 0.2%.
This is considered a moderate increase in risk, but is a very small addition to your lifetime risk of 1/5 or 20% of dying from cancer anyway. This means that 1 in 5 of us die from cancer anyway so the small addition to that risk from those CT scans and X-rays is very small.
In other words, don’t worry about the radiation you received from those examinations. Just keep in mind that the risk from radiation is cumulative; the more examinations you have during your lifetime, the more risks are involved.
Talk to your physician about your concerns. Whenever a physician orders a diagnostic radiological examination, you may voice your concerns about the cumulative radiation, and your physician will explain to you the benefits vs the risks. Generally if the physician feels the examination is necessary, then it probably is.
References:
1.
Computed Tomography — An Increasing Source of Radiation Exposure
N Engl J Med 2007; 357:2277-2284 November 29, 2007
2.
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/safety/index.cfm?pg=sfty_xray
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