Date: 03 Aug 2012 06:33:47 -0500
From: "Dharmendra" dg4750@corpnet...
To: AM-GLOBAL
Subject: Do You Think Doctors Are Your Friend
Baba
Namaskar,
The amount of radiation from even a single x-ray is extremely harmful. Over the years, the cumulative effects of the radiation are quite dramatic on the body. So just think how harmful one CT scan is when a single CT scan exposes you to more than several hundred times the radiation of an x-ray.
X-rays are dangerous for everyone: They damage the DNA and within 10 to 15 years cancer cells will develop in the body. People around the globe are suffering from cancer due to x-rays. And while it is dangerous to all, it is especially ghastly for children because their tender bodies are still developing. Their cells are very sensitive and highly susceptible to cancer from radiation. In that case, CT scans are a tremendous health risk which are far more harmful than x-rays.
So be aware. Avoid CT scans as far as possible - especially for childnre. Only if there is absolutely no other option - and without it you may die - then and only then should one get a CT scan. The basic approach is to steer clear from these CT scans.
One key point to keep in mind is that we are living in the culminating phase of the vaeshyan era - this is capitalism at its peak. Even doctors and hospitals are business entities and follow the profit motive. They think more about earning money than about the well-being, or life and death, of the patient. They will even push you up to the jaws of death if by that way they will earn extra money. Of course not every single doctor operates this way but certainly the majority.
Such doctors and medical professionals are paid commissions by diagnostic companies when they recommend patients for medical screenings and tests, like CT scans. That is why they may even resort to fear tactics to pressure you into getting tested.
So this is the general trend nowadays with doctors. If you are fortunate you may get good doctor - as there are some that are more concerned with patient's care than their own profit. But again this is rare. Point being that if you see a surgeon they will almost always recommend surgery as that is they only way they earn money.
We should be careful. In order to diagnose a problem which may or may not exist, why invite cancer by getting a CT scan. Avoid this as far as possible.
In comparison, MRI's are relatively harmless. So if you need such a diagnosis get an MRI - they are more clear than CT scans, but more costly. Or find other another option like an ultrasound exam. The main aim should be to spare yourself from the radiation of a CT scan.
Only in the worst case scenario, if really there is no other option, then one may get a CT scan - but be sure to educate yourself about the dangers ahead of time. The following articles are good and point to how Americans are often over-diagnosed.
Namaskar,
Dharmendra
CT scans create detailed images of the inside of the body. So they're great for diagnosing all sorts of medical problems — so great that their use has soared in recent years. More than 80 million are being done every year in the United States.
But the scans use a lot more radiation than standard X-rays, and evidence has been mounting that they may increase the risk for cancer. But no one could say for sure.
"This is the first study that's looked at patients that had CT scans and then looked at their subsequent cancer risk," said Amy Berrington de Gonzalez of the National Cancer Institute, who helped conduct the new study.
The study involved nearly 180,000 British patients who got CT scans between 1985 and 2002 before their 22nd birthdays. The researchers looked at kids because they are more sensitive to radiation than adults.
"We found that the radiation exposure from the CT scans was associated with a subsequent increased risk of both leukemia and brain tumors," she said.
Based on the findings, researchers calculated that the amount of radiation from two or three scans of the head before age 15 would increase the risk of brain cancer threefold. It would take five to 10 head scans to triple the risk of leukemia.
Now, the researchers stress that the overall risk for brain cancer and leukemia is very low, so the risk remains quite low even among those who get scans.
"During the follow-up period of our study, which was about 10 years, we estimated about one excess brain tumor and one leukemia per 10,000 head CT scans performed in young children," Berrington de Gonzalez said.
But scans of other parts of the body also look risky, and it's probably not just a matter of multiple CTs and leukemia and brain tumors among kids, she said. There's a good chance even one CT scan poses some risk to children — as well as adults — and possibly for all sorts of cancers.
"I think it's really a landmark paper," said Andrew Einstein of Columbia University Medical Center, who wrote an analysis of the study that's being published along with the paper in the journal The Lancet.
"It's the first paper that's convincingly established that radiation exposure at low doses — in this case from CT scans — is associated with an increased cancer risk to patients," he said.
Previous research has been based primarily on victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Now, Berrington de Gonzalez, Einstein and other experts stress that it's important to remember that CT scans save a lot of lives.
"There are clearly situations in which CT is indicated: major motor vehicle accidents where there's multiple potential organ injuries. In abdominal pain where surgery might be required for, say, a bowel obstruction or in some patients with apendicitis," said Donald Frush of Duke University, speaking on behalf of the American College of Radiology.
If we just focused on the negatives, there are lots of things in life we wouldn't do. "Just hearing the downsides of driving a car, or crossing a street or flying in an airplane," he said, "if you only discussed the risks of all of those things no one would drive a car or walk across the street or fly in an airplane."
Other experts agree. But many argue that a lot of CT scans — maybe as many as half — are unnecessary. So doctors have to be much more selective about how they use them, they say.
"It's absolutely fair if your physician suggests that you or your child has a CT scan to ask that physician, 'Why?' Ask, 'Are there good medical reasons why the CT scan is justified?' " said David Brenner, another Columbia University Medical Center researcher who has long studied the safety of CT scans.
Meanwhile, work is also under way to reduce the dose of radiation from each scan.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/06/07/154421129/ct-scans-boost-cancer-risks-for-kids
... the number of CT scans done in the United States is soaring. The most recent data suggests that U.S. doctors perform at least 70 million scans each year, 5 percent to 10 percent of them in children.
A CT scan—a computer-enhanced series of X-rays routinely used to identify brain trauma, cancer and other conditions that might be missed or take longer to diagnose by other means—delivers at least 10 times the radiation of a mammogram and up to 600 times the radiological punch of a single X-ray...
Children are especially susceptible to radiation-induced cancers, because their cells multiply rapidly. Radiation can damage the cellular controls that keep multiplication in check, over time transforming healthy tissue into tumors...
To avoid inappropriate scans—such as those for chronic headache, minor trauma, and low back pain—Swensen advises every person offered a CT scan—and every parent advised that their child might benefit from one—to ask the doctor:
• How could the test result change my (or my child's) care, if at all?
• Can you recommend an alternative, such as an ultrasound or MRI, that doesn't involve radiation?
• Can a dose at the low end of the scale be used?
• What is the accuracy of the test at the recommended center? Some operators are better at getting clear images than others, Swensen says.
• Do you have a financial interest in the scanner? Doctors that do, he says, have a greater incentive to refer patients for tests.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/second-opinion/2012/06/06/ct-scans-boost-cancer-risk-in-young-patients-study-finds
From: "Dharmendra" dg4750@corpnet...
To: AM-GLOBAL
Subject: Do You Think Doctors Are Your Friend
Baba
== DO YOU THINK DOCTORS ARE YOUR FRIEND ==
Namaskar,
The amount of radiation from even a single x-ray is extremely harmful. Over the years, the cumulative effects of the radiation are quite dramatic on the body. So just think how harmful one CT scan is when a single CT scan exposes you to more than several hundred times the radiation of an x-ray.
X-rays are dangerous for everyone: They damage the DNA and within 10 to 15 years cancer cells will develop in the body. People around the globe are suffering from cancer due to x-rays. And while it is dangerous to all, it is especially ghastly for children because their tender bodies are still developing. Their cells are very sensitive and highly susceptible to cancer from radiation. In that case, CT scans are a tremendous health risk which are far more harmful than x-rays.
So be aware. Avoid CT scans as far as possible - especially for childnre. Only if there is absolutely no other option - and without it you may die - then and only then should one get a CT scan. The basic approach is to steer clear from these CT scans.
One key point to keep in mind is that we are living in the culminating phase of the vaeshyan era - this is capitalism at its peak. Even doctors and hospitals are business entities and follow the profit motive. They think more about earning money than about the well-being, or life and death, of the patient. They will even push you up to the jaws of death if by that way they will earn extra money. Of course not every single doctor operates this way but certainly the majority.
Such doctors and medical professionals are paid commissions by diagnostic companies when they recommend patients for medical screenings and tests, like CT scans. That is why they may even resort to fear tactics to pressure you into getting tested.
So this is the general trend nowadays with doctors. If you are fortunate you may get good doctor - as there are some that are more concerned with patient's care than their own profit. But again this is rare. Point being that if you see a surgeon they will almost always recommend surgery as that is they only way they earn money.
We should be careful. In order to diagnose a problem which may or may not exist, why invite cancer by getting a CT scan. Avoid this as far as possible.
In comparison, MRI's are relatively harmless. So if you need such a diagnosis get an MRI - they are more clear than CT scans, but more costly. Or find other another option like an ultrasound exam. The main aim should be to spare yourself from the radiation of a CT scan.
Only in the worst case scenario, if really there is no other option, then one may get a CT scan - but be sure to educate yourself about the dangers ahead of time. The following articles are good and point to how Americans are often over-diagnosed.
Namaskar,
Dharmendra
CT Scans Boost Cancer Risks For Kids
Children who get CT scans are at slightly increased risk for brain cancer and leukemia, according to a large international study released Tuesday.CT scans create detailed images of the inside of the body. So they're great for diagnosing all sorts of medical problems — so great that their use has soared in recent years. More than 80 million are being done every year in the United States.
But the scans use a lot more radiation than standard X-rays, and evidence has been mounting that they may increase the risk for cancer. But no one could say for sure.
"This is the first study that's looked at patients that had CT scans and then looked at their subsequent cancer risk," said Amy Berrington de Gonzalez of the National Cancer Institute, who helped conduct the new study.
The study involved nearly 180,000 British patients who got CT scans between 1985 and 2002 before their 22nd birthdays. The researchers looked at kids because they are more sensitive to radiation than adults.
"We found that the radiation exposure from the CT scans was associated with a subsequent increased risk of both leukemia and brain tumors," she said.
Based on the findings, researchers calculated that the amount of radiation from two or three scans of the head before age 15 would increase the risk of brain cancer threefold. It would take five to 10 head scans to triple the risk of leukemia.
Now, the researchers stress that the overall risk for brain cancer and leukemia is very low, so the risk remains quite low even among those who get scans.
"During the follow-up period of our study, which was about 10 years, we estimated about one excess brain tumor and one leukemia per 10,000 head CT scans performed in young children," Berrington de Gonzalez said.
But scans of other parts of the body also look risky, and it's probably not just a matter of multiple CTs and leukemia and brain tumors among kids, she said. There's a good chance even one CT scan poses some risk to children — as well as adults — and possibly for all sorts of cancers.
"I think it's really a landmark paper," said Andrew Einstein of Columbia University Medical Center, who wrote an analysis of the study that's being published along with the paper in the journal The Lancet.
"It's the first paper that's convincingly established that radiation exposure at low doses — in this case from CT scans — is associated with an increased cancer risk to patients," he said.
Previous research has been based primarily on victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Now, Berrington de Gonzalez, Einstein and other experts stress that it's important to remember that CT scans save a lot of lives.
"There are clearly situations in which CT is indicated: major motor vehicle accidents where there's multiple potential organ injuries. In abdominal pain where surgery might be required for, say, a bowel obstruction or in some patients with apendicitis," said Donald Frush of Duke University, speaking on behalf of the American College of Radiology.
If we just focused on the negatives, there are lots of things in life we wouldn't do. "Just hearing the downsides of driving a car, or crossing a street or flying in an airplane," he said, "if you only discussed the risks of all of those things no one would drive a car or walk across the street or fly in an airplane."
Other experts agree. But many argue that a lot of CT scans — maybe as many as half — are unnecessary. So doctors have to be much more selective about how they use them, they say.
"It's absolutely fair if your physician suggests that you or your child has a CT scan to ask that physician, 'Why?' Ask, 'Are there good medical reasons why the CT scan is justified?' " said David Brenner, another Columbia University Medical Center researcher who has long studied the safety of CT scans.
Meanwhile, work is also under way to reduce the dose of radiation from each scan.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/06/07/154421129/ct-scans-boost-cancer-risks-for-kids
CT Scans Boost Cancer Risk in Young Patients, Study Finds
A study involving thousands of British children provides the first direct evidence that low-dose radiation used in diagnostic imaging produces a small but real increase in a child's risk of developing cancer within 10 to 15 years, researchers say. The study, published today in Lancet, found that two to three head CT scans can triple a child's risk of getting a brain tumor. Five to 10 scans that deliver radiation to the bone marrow triple the risk of leukemia, the research showed...... the number of CT scans done in the United States is soaring. The most recent data suggests that U.S. doctors perform at least 70 million scans each year, 5 percent to 10 percent of them in children.
A CT scan—a computer-enhanced series of X-rays routinely used to identify brain trauma, cancer and other conditions that might be missed or take longer to diagnose by other means—delivers at least 10 times the radiation of a mammogram and up to 600 times the radiological punch of a single X-ray...
Children are especially susceptible to radiation-induced cancers, because their cells multiply rapidly. Radiation can damage the cellular controls that keep multiplication in check, over time transforming healthy tissue into tumors...
To avoid inappropriate scans—such as those for chronic headache, minor trauma, and low back pain—Swensen advises every person offered a CT scan—and every parent advised that their child might benefit from one—to ask the doctor:
• How could the test result change my (or my child's) care, if at all?
• Can you recommend an alternative, such as an ultrasound or MRI, that doesn't involve radiation?
• Can a dose at the low end of the scale be used?
• What is the accuracy of the test at the recommended center? Some operators are better at getting clear images than others, Swensen says.
• Do you have a financial interest in the scanner? Doctors that do, he says, have a greater incentive to refer patients for tests.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/second-opinion/2012/06/06/ct-scans-boost-cancer-risk-in-young-patients-study-finds
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