Stop worrying about the BPA in the plastic water bottles, the fact that you’re not eating enough vegetables and that you swallow pounds of lipstick a year. A report by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation looked at factors that contribute to the risk of women developing breast cancer and found that little life changes have less of an impact of your risk of developing the condition compared to these two risk factors: radiation from medical imaging and post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy.
READ MORE: Just 1/4 Glass Of Wine A Day Is Best
Radiation is measured in mSv or millisieverts. The average healthy person who doesn’t smoke, hasn’t undergone medical imaging or received hormone replacement therapy is only exposed to about 3 mSv per year from background radiation sources like radon gas or airline flights. Smokers who go through a pack of cigarettes a day are exposed to a whopping extra 53 mSv a year. Smokers should be especially wary of radiation exposure from medical imaging and opt for tests without radiation.
Where do you get radiation from medical imaging?
- Nuclear imaging – often used to check for heart disease using “stress test” or “myocardial perfusion imaging.” Other tests include thyroid scans, whole body bone scans, SPECT or PET scans (Positron Emission Tomography).
- CT scans (computed tomography) – anywhere between 7-30 mSv of radiation.
- X-rays – chest x-ray is 0.1 mSv, mammogram is 0.4 mSv.
- NOT A SOURCE OF RADIATION - MRI (magnetica resonance imaging) and ultrasound exams.
Why is medical imaging bad?
- Radiation damages DNA, causing mutations that lead to cancer cells.
- A 2007 study found 2% of cancer cases in the United States are caused by radiation exposure from CT-related imaging.
- A 2012 study by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found use of diagnostic medical imaging in the United States doubled from mid-1990s to the present. This suggest twice as many people are being exposed to medical imaging or people or experiencing double the testing.
How to avoid radiation from medical imaging?
- Ask your doctor for alternatives. For example, a chest CT scan is 7 mSv while a chest x-ray is only 0.1 mSv and just as effective.
- Eat healthy and exercise. If your heart is healthy, you won’t need diagnostic tests to image your heart.
- Ask your partner to look for alternatives. Yes, sleeping next to your partner exposes you to about 3 extra mSv per year. But, if your partner receives radiation-based medical imaging, you might be exposed to higher amounts from them.
*image courtesy of shutterstock.com
