CT scan radiation and protective supplements

Posted by bradzepfan @bradzepfan, Nov 8, 2023

Hello everybody. I believe we are all in the "frequent CT scan" club here so I wanted to share this slide show PDF about reducing DNA damage from CT scans.
https://car.ca/uploads/Education%20Lifelong%20Learning/Meetings/ASM2013_Speakers_Pres/EE005_Oral_Antioxidants_for_Radioprotection_in_Medical_Imaging_Exams.pdf

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.

Profile picture for libby2 @libby2

I have had the Pure brand and many more. I like it and NOWfoodsbrand.
NOW did an article about the testing they did on Amazon supplements. Google it I don’t have reference- sorry.

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Hi Libby,
I believe the article you are referencing is this one:
https://www.nowfoods.com/healthy-living/articles/all-acetyl-l-carnitine-not-created-equal
NOW appears to be a pretty good product. Thanks for your input.

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Doctors usually order regular chest CT for us. Will a low does CT like screen cancer work? This low dose CT is only 1/4 of the radiation as regular chest CT.
I have had two CTs this year, and I really really don't like the repeated CT scans. One regular chest CT is equal to 100 X-rays!!! But some doctors are not aware of the long- term cancer risk and order them as many as they want.

"When your doctor orders an occasional x-ray or computed tomography (CT) scan, you probably focus on the findings, not the amount of radiation you'll be exposed to. But if you need numerous tests, you may wonder if you're getting too much radiation exposure and how it might affect you. The concern about radiation exposure is an increased risk for developing cancer later in life. Ionizing radiation from tests such as x-rays or CT scans has the potential to damage tissue in the body, including cell DNA.

"As DNA is damaged, this causes mutations. Some of these are repaired by our cells, but others escape repair. In rare circumstances, these mutations may cause cells to divide rapidly without control," explains Dr. Mark Hammer, a radiologist with Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. "If cancer were to develop, it could take 10 to 20 years for it to become apparent.""

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Profile picture for helen1000 @helen1000

Doctors usually order regular chest CT for us. Will a low does CT like screen cancer work? This low dose CT is only 1/4 of the radiation as regular chest CT.
I have had two CTs this year, and I really really don't like the repeated CT scans. One regular chest CT is equal to 100 X-rays!!! But some doctors are not aware of the long- term cancer risk and order them as many as they want.

"When your doctor orders an occasional x-ray or computed tomography (CT) scan, you probably focus on the findings, not the amount of radiation you'll be exposed to. But if you need numerous tests, you may wonder if you're getting too much radiation exposure and how it might affect you. The concern about radiation exposure is an increased risk for developing cancer later in life. Ionizing radiation from tests such as x-rays or CT scans has the potential to damage tissue in the body, including cell DNA.

"As DNA is damaged, this causes mutations. Some of these are repaired by our cells, but others escape repair. In rare circumstances, these mutations may cause cells to divide rapidly without control," explains Dr. Mark Hammer, a radiologist with Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. "If cancer were to develop, it could take 10 to 20 years for it to become apparent.""

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Dear Helen. The last two Ct scans I had were low dose. I don’t know how your doctors diagnose you but may be low dose scans show less

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Profile picture for lilianna @lilianna

Dear Helen. The last two Ct scans I had were low dose. I don’t know how your doctors diagnose you but may be low dose scans show less

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Thanks Lilianna for this important information! I need to check with my doctor the ones I had is low dose or not. I heard only cancer screening is low dose.
A regular Chest CT is 7 mSv, about 70 X-ray, and a low dose CT is 1.5 7 mSv, about 15 X-rays.

But I do know it has no contrast, at least less damage to kidneys.

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Profile picture for lilianna @lilianna

Dear Helen. The last two Ct scans I had were low dose. I don’t know how your doctors diagnose you but may be low dose scans show less

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Did you ask for low dose Lilianna? Or it was automatically low dose?

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Profile picture for helen1000 @helen1000

Did you ask for low dose Lilianna? Or it was automatically low dose?

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No I did not ask. Dr Griffith from NJH ordered it.

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Cool!! You have a very good doctor! I will check with my doctor whether the CTs are low dose or not.
How are you feeling?

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About 4 years ago I had a regular CT then treatment and Dr wanted follow up CT. I asked for low dose and he agreed. It does not show as much as regular but he said it would tell him what he needed to know. It was also very fast compared to the regular CT. I much preferred it so worth asking for.

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Among my loads of questions are questions about CT scans, how often do you have them, how to protect yourself if possible, etc.
I found this reference while looking for CT scan conversations here, and I really want to read this but I'm new here, and this message is several years old, and the link goes to the site but says it's not available and maybe you can search for it in the history ....which I did but I cannot find it. Any chance anyone can still get this article? Or anything on the subject of CT Scans, frequency, safety measures, alternative methods ....
Opinions? Thank you.
OOPS this refers to an article in a post by Libby2 posted in November 2023

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