CT scans have been around for more than 20 years. Each year millions of individuals undergo a range of CT scans all over the world. Now there is a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine stating that Ct scans provide excess radiation that increases risk of cancer.
The problem with CT scans started a few months ago when patients at Cedars Sinai hospital in LA were found to have been exposed to excess radiation during a brain scan. The problem was that the machines were wrongly programmed. Since than only one other hospital has reported a similar problem.
There is no doubt that Ct scans deliver a lot of radiation – the equivalent of 100-200 conventional chest x rays. The question remains, “do ct scans cause cancer?” The answer to this question is not known because cancers do not arise in a month or even a year. There is usually a long lag time of many years. Moreover, patients who undergo CT scans are inherently sick otherwise they would not be undergoing the procedure. In some cases, patients have died from their medical disorder and this has had nothing to do with the CT scan.
Over the past 20 years, the incidence of cancers has gradually increased but this has not been correlated to CT scans. In fact, most patients are found to have a cancer as a result of the CT scan. so far, there is not a single study which has shown an increased risk of cancer as a result of a CT scan.
Only a prospective study of people who have undergone Ct scans will reveal if there is a relationship between the two. In the meantime, individuals who need a Ct scan should undergo the procedure and not follow/listen to the media hysteria.
Missing out on a Ct scan may lead to a missed cancer.