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Hi, I Am 19 Years Old And Have Had 7
Question: Hi, I am 19 years old and have had 7 CT scans in the last 11 weeks. 5 chest CT’s (2 of which included abdomen) and 2 CT angiography studies with calcium scoring. I am quite worried about the future implications this might have on my health. Can you please tell me how concerned I should be. And also how to effectively screen against cancers in my chest and abdomen moving forward. Because it is something that will always be on my mind now.
Brief Answer:
Diagnostic radiation and cancer risk explained below. Other non-radiating methods for diagnosis explained as well.
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to Ask a Doctor service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
CT scans do emit radiation and according to
Americal College of radiology, there should not be lifetime radiation of higher than 100 mSv which is a total of 25 CT scans.
So, 7 is a high number of CT scans but it is not all that bad.
20% of people on the earth will die of cancer so there is a 20% chance of one person to die of cancer and one CT increases this risk per person to 20.05% (increases it by 0.05%). So, in your case, having 7 CT scan, the risk is increased by 0.35%)
So, to conclude
- it is important to reduce unnecessary exposure to diagnostic radiation such as X-rays or CT scan
- in your case, the chance of cancer due to 7 CT scans is very low and a one should not exceed 25 CT scans in a lifetime
- one CT scan increases the risk of death from cancer by 0.05%
- other diagnostic alternatives such as ultrasound examination or MRI (if you do not have metal parts in your body) can be used instead of CT scan and they do not emit radiation.
This link will give more detailed information on the statistics above and I hope will give some more answers. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/do-ct-scans-cause-cancer
I hope this is helpful and answers your query. Let me know if I may assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General and Family Physician
Diagnostic radiation and cancer risk explained below. Other non-radiating methods for diagnosis explained as well.
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to Ask a Doctor service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
CT scans do emit radiation and according to
Americal College of radiology, there should not be lifetime radiation of higher than 100 mSv which is a total of 25 CT scans.
So, 7 is a high number of CT scans but it is not all that bad.
20% of people on the earth will die of cancer so there is a 20% chance of one person to die of cancer and one CT increases this risk per person to 20.05% (increases it by 0.05%). So, in your case, having 7 CT scan, the risk is increased by 0.35%)
So, to conclude
- it is important to reduce unnecessary exposure to diagnostic radiation such as X-rays or CT scan
- in your case, the chance of cancer due to 7 CT scans is very low and a one should not exceed 25 CT scans in a lifetime
- one CT scan increases the risk of death from cancer by 0.05%
- other diagnostic alternatives such as ultrasound examination or MRI (if you do not have metal parts in your body) can be used instead of CT scan and they do not emit radiation.
This link will give more detailed information on the statistics above and I hope will give some more answers. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/do-ct-scans-cause-cancer
I hope this is helpful and answers your query. Let me know if I may assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General and Family Physician
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
Does the close proximity of all of these scans, and the localisation of these scans increase the risk? Also, what are my best options for future screening against cancers in the abdomen/chest?
Brief Answer:
Detailed answer below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,
Unfortunately, there is not much information available related to close proximity of the scans so I can not give risks in numbers for this but it is important to avoid unnecessarily radiating tests in the near future as the scans were quite close to one another.
There are no recommendations that you need to do certain checks to screen for cancers due to exposure to radiation from CT scans but if you would like to do such scans, ultrasound examination (for the abdomen/pelvis area) and MRI examination for any area in the body (abdomen/chest) are non-radiating examinations that can be used for diagnosis instead of CT scans.
I hope this is helpful and answers your query. Let me know if I may assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General and Family Physician
Detailed answer below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,
Unfortunately, there is not much information available related to close proximity of the scans so I can not give risks in numbers for this but it is important to avoid unnecessarily radiating tests in the near future as the scans were quite close to one another.
There are no recommendations that you need to do certain checks to screen for cancers due to exposure to radiation from CT scans but if you would like to do such scans, ultrasound examination (for the abdomen/pelvis area) and MRI examination for any area in the body (abdomen/chest) are non-radiating examinations that can be used for diagnosis instead of CT scans.
I hope this is helpful and answers your query. Let me know if I may assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj,
General and Family Physician
Note: For further queries related to kidney problems Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Answered by
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