One of our wily readers caught an error in yesterday’s post: kudos to you, Sam!  I had two comments ready for posting and we inadvertently posted one under the title of the other.  So, for any of you who were perplexed at the non-mention of CT scans in the article yesterday, read the correct version today, and read my post yesterday under its corrected title: Correcting Medical Errors.  Thanks to all of you who keep my and my staff on our toes.  We appreciate you!  Dr. Stan

Wall Street Journal

December 15, 2009

CT Scans Linked to Cancer

Study Warns Radiation Dose From Single Test Can Trigger Disease in Some People

The risk of cancer associated with CT scans is greater than previously believed. These latest studies, printed in the Archives of Internal Medicine, support the use of caution against the overuse of all radiologic studies that use radiation. Its use has more than tripled to over 72 million scans since the early 1990’s. A single CT scan of the heart would later manifest as cancer in 1 out of 270 women. Some radiologists use doses considerably higher than other radiologists, and differences in radiation exposure may vary widely between the same procedure at different times. The younger a person is at the time of exposure, the greater chance he/she has to get a cancer from that one CT scan. A single abdominal CT scan will result in cancer in 1 out of 500 children exposed at the age of 3, a 1 out of 1,000 chance at age 30, and 1 out of 3,300 chance at age 70 for the single exposure. The doses of radiation with mammograms are much less than for a CT scan, but the small cancer risk should be weighed along with the potential benefit of breast cancer screening.

Dr. Gardner’s comments: X-ray (radiation) exposure has always been known to be a potential carcinogen. These studies just confirm what we have been saying for years—all part of the toxic exposures that lead to changes in cellular function and structure. Some people are being scanned multiple times, and some are getting whole body scans. The greater the exposure, the greater the chance that cellular changes can take place. And the more time of life that exposed tissue is alive will increase the chance of cancer being the result. Thermography can take the place of mammograms—with no radiation exposure, and able to detect early cancer a year or two before a mammogram can do so. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) has no radiation exposure, but is a more expensive procedure. It should be used whenever possible. The best protection against cancer is eating real food, taking good supplements (vitamin D levels in the 50s and 60s) and avoiding avoidable toxin exposures.