Well, This is Interesting (x-rays and lung cancer)

win231

win231

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CA
I was flipping through the channels this morning & Rush Limbaugh was on a talk show, chatting about his recent lung cancer diagnosis with several others. A doctor was also on the show & she was asked about how to prevent lung cancer & also what the causes were.
She mentioned the usual "Smoking & second-hand smoke, environmental factors like asbestos, etc. Then she said, "Chest exposure to radiation." I already suspected that, but I was surprised to hear a doctor admit it. People are most often exposed to chest radiation from chest x-rays & mammograms - both are frequently recommended by doctors to "Detect cancer in its early stages when it can be cured." In fact it's usually part of a "Yearly Physical," unless that recommendation has changed. (I don't know because I don't get routine physicals).

I'm not opposed to all x-rays; just the unnecessary "Routine" ones. I've been asked to have chest x-rays as part of a pre-employment physical - which I refused. Most people aren't aware of the risk & they need the job, so they're unlikely to say anything; especially when I've heard doctors talk about how "harmless" x-rays are, how little radiation it exposes people to, & my favorite one: "You get more radiation flying in a plane or sitting in the sun for 5 minutes."
I've had dentists who wanted to do full x-rays just to clean teeth. To which I answer, "Goodbye."
 

I'm in favor of these "screenings". I go in every year for a Low Dose Computed Tomography...low dose lung cancer screening...and get the annual teeth x rays, etc. Medicare Advantage and dental insurance covers the costs, and I'm paying for these exams with my premiums, so I would rather find something in its early stages, rather than wait until I have some real problems. Insurance only covers these LDCT's through age 77, so my next trip, probably in April, will be my last for this test. I'm sure that excessive exposure to radiation can be harmful, but failing to get tested can easily result in far more serious problems, over time. Just my opinion......
 
Don't scare me, I have a mammogram every 2 years !!!

I've had many dental x-rays in the past and also head area x-rays.. works out probably about once every 2 years or so for the latter as well.

I never get X-rays just to get my teeth cleaned, why would anyone need that?... however, overall. I've had quite a few X-rays...and in fact I'm going into hospital on Tuesday for tests and will be getting X-rayed again

Funnily enough I was just thinking about stopping the mammograms now..but hey ..I dunno what to think now...
 
X-rays are highly mutagenic. There is absolutely no debate possible, there. It's a proven fact. There is zero doubt in my mind that the huge uptick in thyroid cancers seen, these days, has a direct correlation with the constant pressuring, by dentists, to get those damn x-rays every six months. Ridiculous! I NEVER give in to that crap. I also will not allow any other x-rays, including airport scans. In an emergency situation involving broken limbs, that's another story.

It greatly saddens me when I hear a woman say, "They caught my breast tumor thanks to the yearly mammograms I've been having for the last twenty years!" Oh, man, just too sad for words, almost.
 
treeguy64 said:
X-rays are highly mutagenic. There is absolutely no debate possible, there. It's a proven fact. There is zero doubt in my mind that the huge uptick in thyroid cancers seen, these days, has a direct correlation with the constant pressuring, by dentists, to get those damn x-rays every six months. Ridiculous! I NEVER give in to that crap. I also will not allow any other x-rays, including airport scans. In an emergency situation involving broken limbs, that's another story.

It greatly saddens me when I hear a woman say, "They caught my breast tumor thanks to the yearly mammograms I've been having for the last twenty years!" Oh, man, just too sad for words, almost.
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Absolutely. I'm hesitant to share this information, especially about mammograms because I don't like to undermine people's confidence in whatever makes them feel "protected." But I'm surprised that the dramatic increase in breast cancer diagnoses doesn't inspire women to do a little research on the effects of radiation.
A friend of mine had a doctor who worked part time before he retired at 92 years old. During her checkup she asked him why he didn't recommend a mammogram. He said "Every tissue has a different susceptibility level to radiation. Breast tissue is especially susceptible to cellular changes from radiation, so I don't recommend mammograms; not worth the risk. Besides, cancer doesn't show up on a mammogram until it's been there for many years." She asked him if he was concerned about providing such information while almost every other doctor was recommending yearly mammograms. He said, "I'm 90. What can they do to me? Take away my license?"

Bottom line: Mammography equipment costs over one million dollars. The only way it can pay for itself before profiting is by using it & billing for it. And the best way to accomplish that is...fear. And, it's working.
 
Don M. said:
I'm in favor of these "screenings". I go in every year for a Low Dose Computed Tomography...low dose lung cancer screening...and get the annual teeth x rays, etc. Medicare Advantage and dental insurance covers the costs, and I'm paying for these exams with my premiums, so I would rather find something in its early stages, rather than wait until I have some real problems. Insurance only covers these LDCT's through age 77, so my next trip, probably in April, will be my last for this test. I'm sure that excessive exposure to radiation can be harmful, but failing to get tested can easily result in far more serious problems, over time. Just my opinion......
Click to expand...
"Low Dose X-Rays." Sorta like "Low Tar Cigarettes." :)
 
win231 said:
"Low Dose X-Rays." Sorta like "Low Tar Cigarettes." :)
Click to expand...

I suppose that's one way of looking at it....however, I've had a couple of old friends go through months of extreme misery with Lung Cancer, before they finally died....both of which could quite possibly been cured had they been tested and the problem found in it's early stages.
 
Don M. said:
I suppose that's one way of looking at it....however, I've had a couple of old friends go through months of extreme misery with Lung Cancer, before they finally died....both of which could quite possibly been cured had they been tested and the problem found in it's early stages.
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Assuming--of course--that their cancers weren't caused by chest x-rays.
If an oncologist were honest, he would tell you that early-stage cancer won't show up on an x-ray. When it does show up, it's been there for many years. At that point, the outcome is decided by how aggressive it is - much like prostate, breast, & other cancers.
 
hollydolly said:
http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/screening/breast/breast-health/facts-myths
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Well, one of their foundations - BC Cancer Foundation has their own "Please Donate" page. What could we expect them to say?
And, this statement: "there has never been a case of breast cancer proven to be caused from radiation exposure during a mammogram" is quite amusing & rather insulting to people's intelligence, since there is NO WAY for anyone to prove that radiation from a mammogram caused a cancer.
When cancer is detected, it doesn't have any labels that indicate where it came from or what caused it. That's the case with all cancers.
Lung cancer is frequently blamed on smoking, but it is frequently seen in non smokers. Dana Reeve - Christopher Reeve's wife died of lung cancer at 44 & never smoked.
What caused Linda McCartney's breast cancer that she died of at 56? No one knows.
 
I had a chest X-Ray some time in the 1990s and had
to go back to the hospital for the results.

The Doctor that I saw asked me to sit down and said,
"you are a remarkable man, according to the results
of you X-Ray, you should be dead"!

He showed me the computer screen and pointed out
the different areas where it showed that there is no way
that I could still be alive with those results.

I said "it is your computer that is dead, not me, have you
looked at the original film"? he said no and sent for it, when
he held it on the light box, it was absolutely clear and at that
time I smoked.

So question any questionable results as computers can go
wrong and there is too much relying on them today.

Mike.
 
My father was the opposite of me, as far as medical tests & the "Early Diagnosis" idea. As he got older, he started to visit doctors more often for "Screenings," thinking they would keep him well & prolong his life. It didn't bother me; I drove him to all his Dr. appointments - whatever made him happy. He wanted bone scans & blood tests every few months.

At 70, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had the typical mindset of "Doctors can treat it, fix it, & cure it." His doctor wanted to treat it aggressively. I had a big fight with his doctor because (in front of my dad), he suggested I make arrangements for hospice care. I got in his face & said, "Get the ____ out; I want another doctor here, now." After I did some extensive research, I took him to other doctors who suggested leaving it alone because at that age, such cancers are usually slow-growing or dormant & he would certainly outlive it. And they said the treatment would make him sick & destroy his quality of life with no benefit. He disagreed with them; they weren't saying what he wanted to hear, but he did as that doctor & I suggested & didn't get any treatment. He died 18 years later - at 88 of a fall.

Almost every man over 60 has some cancer cells in his prostate, just like almost every woman over 60 has some cancer cells in their breasts. Our immune system (which may become worn as we age - along with everything else) is what keeps them from growing. Like most people who live a long time, he died with cancer, not because of cancer. Some doctors have said "Anyone who lives long enough will have cancer."
Sooner or later, our immune system will stop working, just as our hearts will stop beating. We aren't designed to live forever & there is no doctor or screening or x-ray on the planet earth that can change that.
 
Today I took a CT scan to check on something. I won't know for a few days. I will say, though, particularly in light of what Grannyjo is going through, when testing is ordered for me, it goes through immediately, no waiting, not more than a few hours or days, I mean.

I am tense about it. I have reason to be tense about it.
 
X-rays are a two edged sword. The possible risks should be weighed against the benefits and patients should be given the information to make a rational decision for themselves but money/greed gets in the way as it does in many other ways
 


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