pancreatic cancer concerns/ radiation

  first and foremost, I was in a bad accident 13 years ago(17 years of age). I had severe pancreatic injury and developed sudocysts, I spent 4mo. in hospital, npo and had 3 operations,  6mo. prior to this I had a craniotomy for an unruptured anurysm  on my carotid artery, The surgery went well with no complications and i recoverd very well. During These events I recived numerous ct scans and angiograms, I recived a few scans in infancy, I had two angios around the time of the craniotomy, When the car accident occured I had a ct everyday for a week, and several over the course of my 4mo hospital stay. I also had about 4 more between 1997 and 2008. The recent to were because of my history of an unruptured anurysm at a younge age. I am 30 years old and have children so I wanted to get checked out one last time. Everything turned out ok I am anurysm free. My concern is all of the ct scans and what the radiation is going to do to my body. I have read alot about radiation and increased risks of cancer.  I have had at least 30 x-rays of some sort. Not all were ct scans. I am worried about cancer in the future, (pancreatic or brain cancer.) I see my doctor annually, she does not seem to concerned, I was wondering if cancer screening for tumor markers would be beneficial.  What are the risks of cancer from multiple scans. how sensitive is pancreas to radiation.


This discussion is related to Terrified of pancreatic cancer.  

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[Kevin Pho, MD]

Tumor markers are generally not indicated for the screening of cancer.

Recent studies have suggested an increased cancer risk from radiation from CT scans.  

Routine cancer screening - such as colon cancer and prostate cancer - should be done.  There are no specific recommendations to increase cancer screening in the setting of more frequent radiation exposure.

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patients education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
www.kevinmd.com