Thread: The pros and cons of medical radiation

NYTimes.com: Americans today receive far more medical radiation than ever before. The average lifetime dose of diagnostic radiation has increased sevenfold since 1980, and more than half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy. Without a doubt, radiation saves countless...

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No doubt radiological instruments are harmful, especially when exposure to certain areas of the body can be higher than others such as the hands of radiological technologists, to genetic researchers dealing with phospor plates, to the individual patient, BUT, the patient can be treated for a simple disease with one radiograph and minimal exposure to rads, whereas the repeat user/usee? is usually being treated for a chronic condition and requires it, thus exposing them to a much more toxic dose. Look at other gadgets and devices today, how many rads are being produced by other technologies. I would say, when you are born, each new baby is exposed to more radiation than the baby before it due to new technologies and the limited safety research or public demand over safety, used by that particular person as new technologies are discovered and utilized by the general public. Of course there are exceptions........mountain men, etc. Lol

This bad trend is partially offset by more sensitive instrumentation which allows smaller doses of radiation. The proton beam scatters less radiation where it isn't needed for curative radiation. Technology to the rescue. Neil