"Your doctor recommends a “whole-body” CT scan
"Those scans are often touted as a way to detect early signs
of cancer and heart disease. But most scans—and up to 80 percent in older
people—have at least one abnormality that shows up on the exam. Almost all of
the abnormalities are harmless, yet about one-third of patients are referred to
follow-up imaging, according to a 2013 study. And whole-body CT scans expose
you to much more radiation than regular CT scans. One study determined that for
every 1,250 45-year-old adults who have the exam, one will die of cancer as a
result. Yet it’s unknown how many lives the scans might save."
One 45-year-old person will die of cancer as a result of
a whole-body CT scan! That’s shocking --
but not totally surprising. CTs are utilize powerful radiation technology to
investigate the tissues of the body layer by layer; whole-body CTs expose the
whole body.
I’ve had a lot of x-rays due to a congenital hip condition,
so I’m extremely leery of all medical uses of radiation technology; but CTs are
prescribed so often, I’ve even had a couple of them. But I haven’t had a full
body scan. However, less than a year ago I was told I must have one.
In New Mexico, I went to see a specialist about a small
lesion that had begun to distort the vision in my right eye. Dr. Seligson, the
opthamologist I had seen in Santa Fe, thought I had TB, but he insisted that I
must see Dr. Shelley Lee at the University of New Mexico Eye Clinic in
Albuquerque, to confirm his diagnosis. She is a specialist in uveitis,
inflammation of the eye.
Dr. Lee was a youthful, slender woman with a narrow
intelligent face framed by straight black hair. She worked late and appeared to
be very dedicated to her clients. I liked her at once.
In the grey examining room lit only by the glare from a
large computer screen, she showed me vastly enlarged images of the choroid of
my eyes. (According to the web site of the National Institutes of Health, “the choroid is the layer of
blood vessels and connective tissue between the sclera (white of the eye) and
retina. It is part of the uvea and supplies nutrients to the inner parts of the
eye.”) Both images were green from the dye that had been shot into my veins an
hour earlier. Here was the healthy eye. Here was the sick one, covered with
brown spots. It looked pretty creepy.
Dr. Lee looked me over carefully, a woman of advanced years,
unaccompanied, intelligent, who did not appear to be terrified, and said,
"I think you have cancer and it has metastasized to your eye."
Just like that.
In three weeks, I was moving to California. I had great
plans for this move, but I was also very anxious. Now I had cancer! Should I even go? or just curl up and
prepare to die?
Dr. Lee ordered several blood tests, an MRI of the head and
neck and a whole-body CT scan. She urged me to complete the tests before
leaving because there might be delays in California while I established care.
I tried my best, but the two scans were scheduled just a few
days before my departure and I was becoming exhausted. I did the MRI, but the
night before the CT I was supposed to drink two liters of fluid that I supposed
might have something to do with emptying my bowels . . . and I just wasn't up
for it. I postponed the test.
Once in Sonoma, I learned that the small local hospital did not have the
right machine for the whole-body scan. I could go to another hospital if I
wished, but my doctor and the radiologist thought that the three regular scans
would be sufficient; the brain scan would not be included but the MRI had been
negative. Another study of the brain didn’t seem necessary.
So I was spared. The three CTs took five minutes; the
whole-body version would have been an hour long. That is a lot of exposure.
They were all completely normal.
Unless something is lurking in the folds of my stomach
lining, or some other equally obscure place, I am still "good to go."
Something might have shown up in the full-body scan, but
that can lead to new problems. These powerful diagnostic tools sometimes reveal
mysterious abnormalities that may or may not indicate a serious condition; then
doctors order another CT "just to make sure."
That can be the beginning of cancer where none existed!
According to Consumer Reports, a 2013 Australian study had shown that people
who undergo whole-body scans have a 24 percent higher chance of developing
cancer.
I’m glad Dr. Lee was wrong, but I’m very concerned about the
way she presented her diagnosis. Cancer is greatly influenced by one’s state of
mind, and for several days after seeing Dr. Lee, I was already succumbing to
it.
Be careful before you have that whole-body CT!
