CT (computed tomography) scans are a major cause of the breast cancer they are supposed to detect, and women should avoid all ‘just-in-case’ and routine screening, a US government report has concluded.
Women should refuse to have any routine CT screening, say researchers from the University of California, at San Francisco (UCSF), who prepared their report on behalf of the US’s Institute of Medicine.
Instead, women, and especially those over the age of 50 – the major target group for routine imaging screening – should ask doctors the following questions:
o Is this scan absolutely necessary?
o Is it necessary to do it now?
o Are there other alternative tests?
o How can I be sure the test will be done in the safest way possible?
o Will having the scan results change the management of my disease (assuming the cancer is present)?
o Can I wait until after seeing a specialist before getting the scan?
(Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2012; 1-5; doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.2329).
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