Radiation
Although CT (pronounced “cat”) scans may sound warm and fuzzy, these three-dimensional X-rays expose people to very high doses of radiation. A chest CT exposes patients to more than 400 times the radiation dose than a regular chest X-ray.
A new IOM report reviews evidence on breast cancer and the environment, explains the difficulties of studying environmental factors for breast cancer risk, and recommends future research along with ways to reduce breast cancer risk.
Whose silly idea was it to start X-raying people along with the baggage at airports? Most of the media coverage of airport security scanners has focused on privacy issues, but we’re far more concerned about possible health risk: frequent flyers may be racking up increased cancer risk along with their miles, because of radiation exposure.