Dangerous Exposure to Radiation Soars
Lyle Loughry April 2009

A March 3, 2009 article posted on ABC News online, reveals that Americans are now exposed to about seven times more radiation on average than they were in 1980, and that CT Scans, mammogams and other radiation-based medical tests may be to blame for the increase in radiation exposure.

The article, written by Audrey Grayson, ABC News Medical Unit, reported on a recent report  from The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP). The NCRP is a U.S. organization which seeks to formulate and widely disseminate information, guidance and recommendations on radiation protection and measurements which represent the consensus of leading scientific thinking. The Council’s mission also encompasses the responsibility to facilitate and stimulate cooperation among organizations concerned with the scientific and related aspects of radiation protection and measurements. It has been active in the areas of radiation protection and measurements since its inception as “The Advisory Committee on X-Ray and Radium Protection” in 1929.

While there is an increasing patient awareness that radiation exposure from X-rays can cause health problems down the road, most patients have no awareness that the dangers of ionizing radiation, due to medical imaging scans, can reach atomic bomb levels, and virtually no patients -- and few doctors -- realize that one CT scan exposes the body to the equivalent of several hundred X-rays.

The study found that the greatest increase in radiation exposure came from physicians having more and more patients undergo diagnostic imaging tests which utilize radiation. "The increase in medical [radiation] exposure was not a big surprise to anybody," said Kenneth Kase, executive vice president of NCRP. "We expected [radiation] exposures for medical uses to increase dramatically because of the increase in the use of CT scanning in the last 20 years." While most experts believe that the benefits of diagnostic imaging tests such as CT scans far outweigh the risks, some worry about the rise in radiation exposure.

Most women undergoing mammograms have no idea that the radiation emitted by mammography machines actually causes cancer by exposing heart and breast tissue to dangerous ionizing radiation that directly causes DNA damage. The evidence seems to suggest that medical imaging devices could be causing more harm than good, and  mammograms may actually create future cancer patients by causing cancer in the breast! Of course, that's in the financial interest of the drug companies and cancer clinics that profit from treating cancer.

A great deal of the current understanding of the risks associated with radiation-induced cancer stems from studies performed on the survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings on Japan. A study published in the November 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine notes that those WW II survivors who were exposed to low doses still faced significant increases in lifetime cancer risk. The levels of radiation to which these particular study subjects were exposed is equivalent to receiving only two or three CT scans. This is a simple scientific fact: Two CT scans can expose your body to as much radiation as standing a few miles from an atomic bomb explosion.

Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, says, "Radiation exposure from these scans is not inconsequential and can lead to later cancers."

Doctors, authors and health experts have a lot to say on the subject of CT scans, mammograms and radiation: The following quotes have been provided by NaturalNews.

It is now known that radiation causes mutation of the important p53 suppressor gene. For this reason, I do not recommend post-lumpectomy radiation. Even though it may decrease the risk of a local recurrence of cancer, it does not help to inhibit metastatic cancer. Recent findings show that women receiving mammograms should be cautious of overexposure to radiation emitted by equipment that is not professionally and regularly monitored. Such equipment can deliver doses of radiation far above what are assumed today to be safe levels. Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer: A Comprehensive Program for Prevention and Treatment, by Donald R. Yance, j r.,C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine

In his 1996 book, entitled Reclaiming Our Health: Exploding the Medical Myth and Embracing the True Source of Healing, John Robbins says,  "After four years of work, it became disturbingly clear to the research team that the main cause of the rising rates of leukemia was medical radiation, in the form of diagnostic medical x-rays. While a typical diagnostic X-ray might deliver one or two rads (radiation absorbed doses) of radiation, a six-week course of radiotherapy delivers 2500 times more rads!"

According to Disease Prevention and Treatment, by the Life Extension Editorial Staff,  "One whole body scan may be equivalent to the radiation received during 500 chest x-rays. Any amount of radiation exposure damages cellular DNA, thereby increasing the risk of cancer and premature aging."

In his book, You Don't have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore, Bill Sardi writes: "It is foolish to believe every person entering the cancer era of their lives, from age 50 on, should continually be subjected to screening radiation (X-rays, mammograms, CT scans) and invasive needle biopsies, in a futile attempt to detect cancer at its earliest stage. Paradoxically, all of these screening methods only serve to increase the risk for cancer."

and again . . . "Should these patients be exposed to repeated radiation mammography? [Clinical Oncology Royal College Radiology 18: 257-67, 2006] Even exposure to chest x-rays, particularly before the age of 20, heightens the risk for breast cancer with BRCA (genes involved in breast cancer) mutations. [Journal Clinical Oncology 24:3361-6, 2006].  

and still again . . . "The radiation emitted during mammography was reduced as digital films were introduced. How many women have now developed breast cancer from these early screenings is unknown. Virtually every woman exposed to high-dose radiation mammography should have been placed on antioxidant therapy."

British physician, Alice Stewart has spent much of her life investigating the connection between low-level radiation and higher cancer risks. Most doctors have stopped using fetal x-rays since Stewart's work showed that a significant increase in leukemia was found in the children of mothers who had prenatal x-rays taken. She has said she believes that the effects of background radiation coupled with exposure to x-rays may cause most childhood cancers." Empty Harvest by Dr. Bernard Jenson and Mark Anderson

In their book, Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before It's Too Late, Stephen Sinatra, M.D. and James C. Roberts, M.D., state, "After searching for possible causes, we came to the conclusion that work-related radiation had done the damage. We both have had patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who received radiation in the chest and then developed coronary disease. In cardiology, we call that radiation atherosclerosis. We believe x-rays damage endothelial cells."  

and again . . . "We are all exposed to radiation in the form of medical x-rays. Cardiologists, for instance, are exposed to a considerable amount of radiation because of the nature of this work. We do fluoroscopy all the time, putting in pacemakers and cardiac catheterizations. Fluoroscopy uses x-rays to view parts of the body on a screen, similar to the screening your luggage undergoes when you pass through airport security."

Guy McKhann, and Marilyn Albert, in their book, Keep Your Brain Young: The Complete Guide to Physical and Emotional Health and Longevity, Another treatment, radiation, can trigger neurological symptoms, limiting the amount that can be used to treat cancer. The response of normal brain tissue to radiation often does not appear for weeks or months. So when someone with cancer receives radiation, it can be difficult to tell whether the appearance of neurological symptoms some months later stem from the cancer or from the radiation."

In her book, Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way, Susan S. Weed states; "If you do choose radiation, it will most likely be a six-week course of therapy, and it can only be done once. (It is considered unsafe to use radiation therapy on the same breast twice). Radiation therapy can cause DNA damage, skin injuries (burns, discoloration, and permanent texture changes), nausea, appetite loss, hair loss, exhaustion, chest pain, pneumonia, and permanent damage to the lungs, heart, and ribs (known as late-stage injuries).

And again . . . "The younger you are when your breasts are exposed to radiation, the greater your risk."  

And still, again . . . "Screening mammograms are unsafe in other ways, too: they expose sensitive breast tissues to radiation, and they increase your chances of having a biopsy and being overtreated for carcinoma in situ. Scientists agree that there is no safe dose of radiation. Cellular DNA in the breast is more easily damaged by very small doses of radiation than thyroid tissue or bone marrow; in fact, breast cells are second only to fetal tissues in sensitivity to radiation. And the younger the breast cells, the more easily their DNA is damaged by radiation."

According to Dr. Cass Ingram, in her book, Dr. Cass Ingram's Lifesaving Cures, she declares; "X-rays are another type of radiation. This is the most common type of human poisoning. Most individuals are poisoned as a result of medical x-rays, which, when performed repeatedly, result in significant tissue damage. X-ray technicians, radiologists, orthopedists, chiropractors, chiropractic assistants, cardiologists, dentists, and dental assistants are highly vulnerable to developing radiation poisoning."

History has many examples of how radiation use is strongly linked to an increase in cancer rates. Atomic bomb survivors in Japan experienced increased rates of leukemia and cancers of the breast, thyroid, lung, stomach and other organs, illustrating another example of how radiation causes cancer. In general, the breast, thyroid and bone marrow are most sensitive to the effects of ionizing radiation. Avoiding unnecessary medical x-rays is one of the best ways to reduce exposure to ionizing radiation."

Again, . .  "Medical x-rays used at the dentist office to see teeth root health, x-rays used by physicians to investigate bone health, and mammograms of the breast all subject the body to radiation. Uranium miners, and those living in areas close to nuclear weapon tests, are exposed to higher levels of radiation. Ironically, some cancer treatments include radiation therapy to help kill cancer cells. Yet the radiation itself increases the risk of cancer. Historically, radiation was used to monitor patients with tuberculosis."- Probiotic Rescue: How You Can Use Probiotics to Fight cholesterol, Cancer, Superbugs, Digestive Complaints and More, by Allison Tannis

In his book, The Cure: Heal your Body, Save our Life, Timoth Brantly asks. "If this process is safe and effective for someone who was in remission, then why don't they give radiation to everyone, just to make sure cancer never attacks them? Why don't the doctors, their wives, and their children take radiation as a preventive measure? I picture a radiation drive-thru like a fast-food window. They literally fried my mother's chest with what I would later discover was an enormous amount of radiation therapy. When I saw the radiation burns on my mother's chest, I wondered if no treatment at all would have been a better bet."

Elson M. Haas, M.D, in his book, Staying Healthy with Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine, states, "Radiation causes many undesirable internal reactions, especially in the most prolific tissues, such as the gastrointestinal tract and skin. Radiation therapy may affect the appetite, tastes, and the ability to eat. Radiation is cumulative, and many things may add to it, from color TV and microwaves to x-rays and fallout exposure. We need a good protective program! When living in areas with high background radiation, it is wise to take higher amounts of antioxidants regularly."

and again, "The higher frequency radiations, from x-rays to nuclear radiation, are clearly dangerous. Electromagnetic radiation can be divided into two categories. The first is ionizing radiation and includes x-rays, gamma rays, and nuclear radiation. Exposing our body to these highly reactive ions at certain levels can dramatically affect our atomic structure. Ionizing radiation can actually rip electrons from atoms and molecules and directly affect cell division and cell structure."

Quoting Richard Gerber, M.D. from his book, Vibrational Medicine: The #1 Handbook of Subtle Energy Therapies, "In the radiation oncology departments, cancer patients routinely undergo therapy with high intensity x-rays, particle beams, and other types of radiation. Although radiation therapy has been successful in treating certain types of cancers, there are many cancers that are not cured either by radiation or by a combination of radiation and other orthodox medical and surgical modalities. Doctors may have once had the key to curing cancer with energy. But something happened to that priceless knowledge."

Before you submit to radiation of any type, do your homework, and ask every question you can think of, and if you're not satisfied with the answers, keep asking until you are, or get a second (or third) opinion. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to assume some responsibility, especially when so much is at stake.

For even more important, thoroughly researched information on this subject, visit my website, drinkcleanwater.com, and go to the Health Related Bulletins section and click on the article, Mammograms, "Worse Than Useless." You won't find this much good information in any one place, except here.  Lyle

   

   

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