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Cancer concerns due to radiation exposure
Ok, I went through a period in my life of rather severe hypochondria. I am now 33 yrs old, and almost all of my radiation exposure took place between the ages of 26-31.
Actually, my medical worries were provoked by me being diagnosed with a real, yet benign lesion in my skull and I started out with continuous repeated head CT scans due to me worrying that something in my head was growing because of my headaches. I probably needed like 1 or 2 scans to follow up but I kept getting them over and over mostly in the ER.
Also, even worse, I went on to severe worry about the rest of my body, which lead to multiple dead end investigations. Over those 5 years between ages 26-31, the bottom line is that I had all the following radiation exposures:
1) roughly 10 head CT's, probably 3 or 4 were with and without contrast
2) an abdominal and pelvic CT with and without contrast (I only have some very mild colitis it turned out)
3) a nuclear bone scan and skull SPECT (sort or necessary to make sure I didn't have bone cancer re: the skull lesion)
4) a gastic emptying scan
and this is where it gets ugly...
5) a cardiac CTA with and without contrast
6) a pulmonary CTA with and without contrast (3 passes under the scanner)
7) a nuclear cardiac stress test
8) probably about 12-15 regular chest x-rays
9) full spinal X-rays (regular X-rays)
10) Two upper GI series with small bowel follow through
11) various dental x-rays
12) probably 1 or 2 that I'm forgetting
Honestly, am I doomed to cancer considering how young I was when I got all that crap done? I am basically over my hypochondria, but now, I am worried about what I did to myself by cleverly running to a different hospital when one would deny me a test I feel like I really really hurt myself. How are my odds stacked up compared to a cigarette smoker?
Actually, my medical worries were provoked by me being diagnosed with a real, yet benign lesion in my skull and I started out with continuous repeated head CT scans due to me worrying that something in my head was growing because of my headaches. I probably needed like 1 or 2 scans to follow up but I kept getting them over and over mostly in the ER.
Also, even worse, I went on to severe worry about the rest of my body, which lead to multiple dead end investigations. Over those 5 years between ages 26-31, the bottom line is that I had all the following radiation exposures:
1) roughly 10 head CT's, probably 3 or 4 were with and without contrast
2) an abdominal and pelvic CT with and without contrast (I only have some very mild colitis it turned out)
3) a nuclear bone scan and skull SPECT (sort or necessary to make sure I didn't have bone cancer re: the skull lesion)
4) a gastic emptying scan
and this is where it gets ugly...
5) a cardiac CTA with and without contrast
6) a pulmonary CTA with and without contrast (3 passes under the scanner)
7) a nuclear cardiac stress test
8) probably about 12-15 regular chest x-rays
9) full spinal X-rays (regular X-rays)
10) Two upper GI series with small bowel follow through
11) various dental x-rays
12) probably 1 or 2 that I'm forgetting
Honestly, am I doomed to cancer considering how young I was when I got all that crap done? I am basically over my hypochondria, but now, I am worried about what I did to myself by cleverly running to a different hospital when one would deny me a test I feel like I really really hurt myself. How are my odds stacked up compared to a cigarette smoker?
Don't even count the x-rays, they are literally nothing. The head Ct scans, very small. The two highest things you had were the cardiac CT and the Abdominal-pelvic CT scan.
Guess what, I got you beat!
I am 38. Since I was 28 I had skipped beats and weird pains. I have had 4, yes 4 Nuclear heart scans and one Abdominal-pelvic ct scan.
No Doc ever told me about the radiation, what a joke. No one really knows, that X ray risk calculator is a guess, and are approximations based on some linear model.
I worry about it every day. here is something to digest though. You probably had, with all your scans, maybe, maybe a RAD of radiation
A person getting radiation therapy can get zapped with 50-75 RADS over a course of a few weeks.
I know it's hard not to regret it, I still beat myself up over it. We were way too young for all these tests and our Docs should have protected us, but they did not. Now we and probably many others have one more thing to worry about. In the grand scheme of things, however, it's not huge.
Guess what, I got you beat!
I am 38. Since I was 28 I had skipped beats and weird pains. I have had 4, yes 4 Nuclear heart scans and one Abdominal-pelvic ct scan.
No Doc ever told me about the radiation, what a joke. No one really knows, that X ray risk calculator is a guess, and are approximations based on some linear model.
I worry about it every day. here is something to digest though. You probably had, with all your scans, maybe, maybe a RAD of radiation
A person getting radiation therapy can get zapped with 50-75 RADS over a course of a few weeks.
I know it's hard not to regret it, I still beat myself up over it. We were way too young for all these tests and our Docs should have protected us, but they did not. Now we and probably many others have one more thing to worry about. In the grand scheme of things, however, it's not huge.
You may want to take a look at xrayrisk.com
I was given the link by the Nuclear Medicine Safety Officer at Vanderbilt Hosp.
I was given the link by the Nuclear Medicine Safety Officer at Vanderbilt Hosp.
I know the argument could be made that "what's done is done", but I still want to know how bad off I am
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