Hi Jcat,

I quite understand your concerns and I have had them in the past.

This may sound counter-intuitive but almost every family has a history of cancer. Statistically they must do because 50% of the population will develop cancer at some stage in their lives. There are some elements that run in families such as BRCA, but the vast majority don’t. Families without a history of cancer are the rare ones. 

Every time we have an X ray, there’s a very small risk and every CT scan involves a lot of X ray scans. Your MDT will take into account the risk benefit of each scan - how likely is it to do more harm than good? There are some very strict best practice guidance around this, but in the end it has to be your decision. 

Over the years I’ve had several discussions with my oncologist over this. I was trying to balance my real fear of being over-irradiated with my desperate need (especially in the first year) to know whether the damned thing was still growing, or had started shrinking because of the chemo. The one constant has been that the consultant has respected my concerns and given me the consensus from the MDT on the risk-benefit calculation. I’m currently on a watch and wait regime with an annual full body CT scan in case I miss any symptoms that it has started growing again. 

i have no experience of PET scans as a patient, but I guess the same principles apply.

In your position, I’d arrange a meeting with my oncologist to discuss your understandable concerns.

Good luck and best wishes
Dave

That should of course read that families without a cancer history are the rare ones!

Hi Dave,

Thank you so much for responding. I've been worrying myself silly googling 'safe' radiation doses. I know the sensible thing is to have a discussion with my doctor and will do so next week. It is helpful though to get the thoughts of others who have been in similar situations and I see from your profile that you have indeed had lots of scans.

Best wishes for your continuing good health, and thanks again.

Jan

Hi Jan,

No worries, that’s exactly what this forum is for. Especially out of hours, when your mind is racing out of control and Dr Google is amplifying your worries.
On the CRUK roadshow, we have a leaflet with a great title called “It’s Cancer - You’re bound to have questions!” 

Us humans, are all terrible at putting risks into perspective. I’ve known heavy smokers say they’re losing sleep over worrying about the infinitesimal risk of getting cancer due to having a mobile phone in their bedroom.

The consensus seems to be that, if any harm is going to be done, it will happen sooner rather than later. After 8 years I’d imagine your risk will be about as low as anyone else’s as your body will have repaired any damage. 

A lot of the scare stories on Google emanate from the USA where it seems you’re far more likely to be given a CT scan than in the NHS. Our guidelines are far stricter and our doctors have no financial incentive to perform non-essential CT scans (one US study I read estimated these were about 30% of US CT scans).

Sorry to ramble on!
Dave