how long would it take to get cancer from ct scans?

[pb]

DOes anyone know how long it would take to get a cancer from radiation? I am 32 now and when I was 25 to 28 I got 3 ct scans, a nuclear stress test which has ridiculous amounts of radiation ( cause of atria beats, I guess I had a bunch in a row) I also had a barrum swallow..... 2 of these scans are because I got pneumonia after an upper endoscopy..... I feel like I am doomed. I stopped once I read about dangers. not once did a dr tell me anything. I am so scared I have killed myself.Its been 5 to 7 years so I can expect to get cancer by three years?

[Slangevar]

I've read pretty extensively about this (as have many people on this forum).  Yes, statistically more scans can increase your chances of cancer. But the increase is VERY small. 

Also, keep in mind that radiation doesn't stay in your body forever. It's similar to getting a sunburn.  Over time, your body repairs itself from the effects of the radiation, just as it would from a sunburn. You get burned... it turns into a tan... it peels... maybe you get a new freckle or a wrinkle, but after a while, it's like you never got the sunburn.

[pb]

I thought radiation was culmative? Is it possible that exercise and supplements eating right could off set it? I'll never get another scan and ill probably need it then. I hate health anxiey.... As I wait to see my therapist. What a f$&Kim nut case

[sixpack]

who says you are going to get cancer because of scans?

HA peeps continually worry about this....  it is just another way your BEASTY is throwing you around

you know cancer is typically treated with radiation.

[pb]

I googled it of course and did that x ray risk which said I gave a  .6 increase. Just font know how long that's for?? 10, 20.... I feel like a time bomb. Doesn't help that my husbands aunt got put on hospice a few days ago. She's only 57

[sixpack]

pb

again looking stuff up is a mistake.  do you have any idea what .6 increase means.  it is small.  AND what you are doing is what many with ha do--------looking back at past behavior--no matter what is--and fixate on it and decide you've made mistakes and start worrying over it.  Basically it is feeling guilty....


and PB NO ONE can answer your question.   even scientists can not answer that question.  IT is all theoretical.... AND even IF you got cancer it would not be PROVABLE that it was from radiation from med testing.


you know my hubs is about to undergo brachotherapy.  he'll be radioactive for 6 months.....   this is to fix an illness in him.... 

so you can worry about this if you must  BUT the better thing to do is deal with your anxiety disorder in a more proactive way and realize that your radiation fears is another by product of your disorder.

[sixpack]

I'm sorry about your hubs aunt.  that is much too young.

my dad died at 46 of brain cancer.  he only had one CTscan and that was dx'ing his tumor.

my friend just died at age 47.  he wasn't a person that engaged in med testing.

my father in law had cancer.  he wasn't one for med testing either.

hubs never had any ctscans.

my mother in law had breast cancer dx'd at the earliest stages because of her being diligent with her mammograms.

 
I could go on and on with examples.  but we'd be here all night 

bottom line peeps get cancer and there is no KNOWN cause for most people.

[Slangevar]

My dad died of lung cancer... the only scan he ever had prior to his treatment for cancer was the X-ray they used to diagnose him. (And maybe a handful of dental X-rays, but those have barely any radiation in them.)

On the other hand, a guy who lived through both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs died at like age 94. That was actually where I first read about radiation being like a sunburn.

No, it's not cumulative in the way you're thinking.  You don't currently have 3 CT scans' worth of radiation running around in your body. Your body heals from it like it does from a sunburn or any trauma.  Now, if you got enough sunburns in a row, you'd probably eventually get skin cancer. Same thing from the scans. BUT you're not at that mark yet.

[pb]

I just cant stop thinking that i killed myself.I now have a family and feel like I am not going tto see them grow up cause I gave myself cancer.

[sixpack]

I just cant stop thinking that i killed myself.I now have a family and feel like I am not going tto see them grow up cause I gave myself cancer.

that is part of the thinking disorder.

it does get better when we address the faulty thinking.     It is hard work but well worth it.

[floridaguy65]

I just cant stop thinking that i killed myself.I now have a family and feel like I am not going tto see them grow up cause I gave myself cancer.

that is part of the thinking disorder.

it does get better when we address the faulty thinking.     It is hard work but well worth it.

Hi pb:) Seeking out a healing path for your mental health challenges is your ticket. There is NOTHING that can be done about past testing - NOTHING. But CURRENT (and future) fears can be addressed and helped through our overall gameplan to help ourselves live as best we can (which CAN be sooooo very well) alongside our anxiety issues.

You stopped scans 5 years ago and you're fine - healthwise....without further scans looking for 'xyz'. Keep this in mind when considering future med testing. For HA peeps, it really MUST be definitely medically necessary, as testing for 'peace of mind' is NO good. Of course, HA peeps believe ALL their med testing is needed (at the time) and we can justify the heck out of our med testing. But, it has been shown that HA peeps get far too much med testing, and other options are, indeed, available a great deal of the time. Waiting things out, while embracing good habits, tends to be a wonderful option, often:) This is just a general statement about HA.

Again, your fears can be helped by your overall anxiety help and self-help:)

Peace and Feel Well:)

[pb]

i know the thoughts I have are not productive I just get this feeling of hopelessness and doom. Its hard for me to overcome these feelings. All the statistics run through my head all day and I try to keep cell phone away from me and even freak out about computer and tv. cant shake the hopelessness, like whats the point I ruined my life

[sixpack]

i know the thoughts I have are not productive I just get this feeling of hopelessness and doom. Its hard for me to overcome these feelings. All the statistics run through my head all day and I try to keep cell phone away from me and even freak out about computer and tv. cant shake the hopelessness, like whats the point I ruined my life

it is the faulty thinking that has or can ruin your life---NOT the med tests you've had

you looked at the stats.  you said .6 increase.  you know that is less than 1% increase in chance.  IF all that research is worth the paper it is written on

[pb]

one percent on top of the normal 33 percent....I know, i cant change it

[pb]

i feel like i cant breathe and feel destrutive.  i know it doesnt matter and i am looking for reassurance. I start to lose it

[sixpack]

one percent on top of the normal 33 percent....I know, i cant change it

so let's assume the theoretical research is correct and you have understood the stats and all of that.   so it means you have  .6 percent increase of getting cancer over me.... so I'm at a lovely 33% and you are at 33.6%... and this enough to send you into such tortureous thinking and beating yourself up over?


what are you going to do about your self-destructing thinking?  what are you willing to do to get better.

[pb]

I go to therapy, there is just so much stressful things going on right now with my marriage and dying aunt. I cant get out of the cycle. thank you for replying.

[Slangevar]

Sorry to hear about the stress and the dying aunt... those things are sure-fire triggers for anxiety.

As for your "increased chance of cancer," I'm not even sure you can call 0.6% statistically valid. Also, it doesn't take into account the people who got cancer, but recovered.

That's one of the downfalls of our way of thinking. My MIL was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. In my mind (because of what happened to my father), that = a death sentence. But they caught it early, treated it and she's fine now. And there are a lot of people on this forum who have actually had cancer, recovered and are doing fine. The chances are you won't get cancer - especially not from those scans. But if you do someday, you're chances of beating it are pretty darn good.