Increased Risk of Heart Disease

2manyrads
2manyrads Member Posts: 16 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
As an infant I was radiated in 1946 for an enlarged thymus gland in the mistaken belief that this would prevent SIDS. The amount of radiation I absorbed was equal to ten common CT studies today. This treatment was commonly used in major hospitals and even pediatricians’ offices across the country. Thousands of infants and children were given radiation treatments that would later result in many developing both cancer and radiation-induced heart disease. My mother—as no doubt many other mothers—held me on her lap, to make it easier for the radiologist to administer the x-rays. The breast cancer she developed from her own exposure to the radiation that passed through my 5 month old body to hers, was one of the causes of her death many years later.

After surviving childhood leukemia and three open heart surgeries from radiation-induced heart disease, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 metastasized thyroid cancer. With a thyroidectomy and radiation treatments (ironically to treat what had caused the disease in the first place) I slowly recovered.

I am currently working on a book about the history of radiation for benign conditions, especially on children, and would be very interested to hear other’s stories.
I want to alert parents to the risks from the increasing amount of radiation children are receiving from CT scans today. According to a recent New England Journal of Medicine report, “there is direct evidence from epidemiologic studies that the organ doses corresponding to a common CT study result in an increased risk of cancer. The evidence is reasonably convincing for adults and very convincing for children.”

Thank you,
Ron

Comments

  • GrandmaMir
    GrandmaMir Member Posts: 21 Member
    #2
    Radiation
    I am sorry that you have had bad effects from radiation treatments given to you as a baby. I'm wondering about the amount of radiation one receives with radiation treatments for breast cancer. I have read that the radiologist has the patient get a CT scan before beginning the treatments. I have already had several CT scans.

    Good luck on your book. People need to know the dangers of too much radiation.

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