Breast cancer risk can be reduced by avoiding CT scan
A latest report suggests that cancer among kids and breast cancer risk among women can be reduced by avoiding CT scan, says Dr Syyed Ubaidussalam
This is not uncommon that an invention is abused. And we know that medical tests are being abused. Here is a recent research about how the imaging test for medical use may become carcinogenic. Researchers say there is a strong relation between increasing number of imaging tests and an increased number of radiation-induced cancers.
Advancement in the medical technology has allowed us to see deep inside the body and identify a disorder. Computed tomography or CT, scans combine a series of x-rays into a three dimensional image, on the other hand, with the use of Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI you can detect energy emitted by hydrogen atoms in the body which is converted into image. With the help of these two tests you can find out any blockage in blood vessels, tumors, brain hemorrhages and other life – threatening conditions.
These are very important factors to detect abnormalities in the body, but unfortunately these may cause cancers, especially in children and women. Furthermore the trend of imaging test has increased to an alarming level. As the reports say, researches found that in USA 149 persons per 1000 patients were ordered for CT scan in 2010, while this ratio was only 52 scans per 1000 patients in 1996. In case of MRI this ratio was much higher.
This was only 17 per 1000 in 1996 and became 65 tests per 1000. Doctors are ordering the imaging test very frequently, as they listed CT scan among there top five investigations in the list of their investigations, when they were asked for list from American Board of Internal Medicine in April.
Dr. George Bisset, chief of pediatric radiology at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston and president of the Radiological Society of North America says that we have become victims of our own technology.
Now this is the time for doctors to look the disadvantages of CT scans and MRI. They should order for these tests only when it is very necessary. This should not be a default approach to just image.
By avoiding the CT scans and MRI we can save women from breast cancers. An analysis of environmental causes of breast cancer suggests women can reduce breast cancer risk by avoiding unnecessary medical imaging. If doctors do some things to decrease the cancers by just avoiding a test, this will be a very good achievement for mankind.
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