New research has shown that the radiation you are exposed to during a CT scan has a cumulative effect, and can increase the chances that you will have cancer.
CT scans are a widely used and extremely useful tool for diagnosing a variety of conditions.
Generally the number of scans a patient receives is not cause for alarm.
But for patients with an ongoing health concern, those CT scans do add up. Researchers found that patients who had 38 scans were 12 percent more likely to have cancer.
If you have a condition which requires frequent evaluation, like kidney stones for example, be sure to talk to your doctor about whether or not a CT scan is the best test for your condition.
Consider questions such as, “Can the information be obtained using another method, like ultrasound?”, or, “What is the benefit of the test versus the radiation risk?” If there are good reasons to have a CT scan, then you should have the CT scan. The problem comes with multiple scans, not occasional use.
From 2006 to 2007, the number of CT scans done in the U.S. increased from 62 million to almost 69 million.
