Radiation

mef123

My husband heard that you can only get so much radiation in a lifetime. Do any of you know if that's true? Not that he's not going to get radiation but was just wondering.

Michele

John23

Michele -

Re:
"My husband heard that you can only get so much radiation in
a lifetime. Do any of you know if that's true?"

Rule of thumb is:
If you begin to glow in the dark, or bacon turns crispy when you
stand near it... you've had too much.

Ok, here's the 411:

"It is important to note that each exposure to radiation builds up
in our body and the risk of cancer increases with each radiation
exposure. So even though a single source of exposure to radiation
is unlikely to cause cancer by itself, the combined exposures add up
throughout our lifetime and increase our risk of cancer over time.
This is why it is important to limit unnecessary exposures to radiation."

Here's the source of that quote, and the link to it:
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Radiation and Cancer, But Were Afraid to Ask

There's a wealth of information contained there that should
explain the perils and limits, and what we as patients should
be doing to avoid an excess.

That was easy to type, but difficult to do. During my last stay
at our local hospital (3+ weeks in ICU; month+ total), they
were administering chest x-rays each and every morning for nearly
my entire stay. CT scans were sporadic, but I'm not sure how
many were given over the entire time. When you're laying there,
with that overwhelming feeling of death, you don't always argue
when you should be arguing.

Being your own advocate is often an impossible thing to be. We
should always have someone there to speak up for us; to help
keep us safe. That's not always possible, but best... if possible.

After reading this article, I personally will ask for the records that
indicate my total exposure to date.... It won't help me now, but
it may be of great value to my widow's attorney.... just sayin'...

Very best wishes to you and yours,

John

mef123

John23 said:

Michele -

Re:
"My husband heard that you can only get so much radiation in
a lifetime. Do any of you know if that's true?"

Rule of thumb is:
If you begin to glow in the dark, or bacon turns crispy when you
stand near it... you've had too much.

Ok, here's the 411:

"It is important to note that each exposure to radiation builds up
in our body and the risk of cancer increases with each radiation
exposure. So even though a single source of exposure to radiation
is unlikely to cause cancer by itself, the combined exposures add up
throughout our lifetime and increase our risk of cancer over time.
This is why it is important to limit unnecessary exposures to radiation."

Here's the source of that quote, and the link to it:
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Radiation and Cancer, But Were Afraid to Ask

There's a wealth of information contained there that should
explain the perils and limits, and what we as patients should
be doing to avoid an excess.

That was easy to type, but difficult to do. During my last stay
at our local hospital (3+ weeks in ICU; month+ total), they
were administering chest x-rays each and every morning for nearly
my entire stay. CT scans were sporadic, but I'm not sure how
many were given over the entire time. When you're laying there,
with that overwhelming feeling of death, you don't always argue
when you should be arguing.

Being your own advocate is often an impossible thing to be. We
should always have someone there to speak up for us; to help
keep us safe. That's not always possible, but best... if possible.

After reading this article, I personally will ask for the records that
indicate my total exposure to date.... It won't help me now, but
it may be of great value to my widow's attorney.... just sayin'...

Very best wishes to you and yours,

John

Thanks!
That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to pay attention to how much radiation my husband gets. I never thought about x-rays and CT scans.

Michele