QuestionMargot
Hi, I have two questions -
First, my mom is in her 70's and she had a part
of her intestines removed due to cancer. She
had recently had a colonoscopy to check for
any new polops. She has checked out ok, but
her doctor wants her now to get a cat scan.
My question is this, how dangerous is a cat
scan, she recently had one done for her heart.
I believe she is getting to much radation from
all these cat scans, is it that necessary since she just had a colonoscopy.
Second question, she is also looking for a
women doctor that works with primarly the
elderly. Is there a listing of women geratric
doctors in my area of the country.
Thank you
Ken
AnswerHi Ken and thanks for writing,
Most full-body scans are roughly equivalent to 68 chest X-rays. "That sounds like a lot, but to most doctors it's not," Richman says. The only documented cases of radiation causing cancer are from exorbitant amounts, such as that from the atomic bombs dropped in Japan, adds Richman.
Many doctors are leery about healthy people in their 20s and 30s voluntarily exposing themselves to radiation. "The younger you are, the more inadvisable the scans are, because you have more years for the irradiated cells to turn cancerous," says Dr. Hillman. "I definitely don't recommend them for women of childbearing age, because there's a chance that radiating the ovaries could produce a higher rate of mutations in fetuses."
From: http://www.lifetimetv.com/reallife/health/features/scans2.html
As for the list of doctors, the best thing to do is call the AMA in yourarea and ask if there is a list as each region is different.
I hope this helps,
Margot
