This medical test may cause cancer due to unfathomable mistake and its performed 93M times a year in the US

As the federal government investigates America’s chronic disease epidemic, some experts are warning that a popular diagnostic tool may be a contributing factor.CT scans, a go-to for diagnosing everything from tumors to infections to bone fractures, are facing increased scrutiny.

Experts say the radiation doses they deliver can vary dramatically — and often exceed what’s necessary.“Many patients still routinely receive radiation doses two or three times what they should,” said Dr.Rebecca Smith-Bindman, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco medical school.

“That will lead to cancer in a small percentage of patients, approximately 36,000 cancers every year.” Computerized tomography is a medical imaging procedure that uses X-rays to create detailed, three-dimensional images of the body.Every year, an estimated 93 million CT scans are performed in the US, up from just 3 million in 1980.​​The surge isn’t accidental — these machines have revolutionized diagnostics, reducing the need for invasive procedures like exploratory surgeries, per Harvard Health. Despite their rise in use, experts warn that radiation doses from CT scans vary widely among clinics, with little oversight.

One machine can expose a patient to 10 or 15 times as much radiation as another, according to NBC News.“It’s unfathomable,” Smith-Bindman told NBC.“We keep doing more and more CTs, and the doses keep going up.”Researchers have also noted that US doctors order far more imaging than physicians in other parts of the world, arguing that some of it is unnecessary and potentially dangerous.CT scans use ionizing radiation, which can damage DNA.

While most of the damage is repaired by cells, some errors can cause DNA mutations, potentially leading to cancer down the road.The lifetime cancer risk from CT scans is generally considered low, but research suggests the risk increases for patients who undergo multiple scans throughout their lives.One study f...