I love bananas. Can you believe they carry radiation? So how much radiation are you comfortable with? That is a very important question to ask yourself. I am not going to stop eating bananas, sleeping next to someone (can you believe that?), using a computer monitor or travelling by air, so I have to accept a certain amount of radiation in my life.
Ladies, I am in the breast wellness business and I provide men and women of all ages with breast exams that are radiation- free, so I felt compelled to find out exactly how much radiation is in a mammogram for my readers and patients.
Through research and excellent contacts I found this radiation chart. The disclaimer at the bottom says that it is for general public information only but it is pretty clear to me.
Notice on the chart that all my radiation concerns; bananas, computer monitor, airfare, dental x-rays and sleeping next to someone are just a tiny fraction of radiation compared to a mammogram. This makes me feel pretty good that I have a breast exam that is radiation- free. My real question to the author of the chart would be the “definition” of “a” mammogram. Is it one film on one breast or is “a” mammogram one set of films?
I have breast implants so they take 2 extra films on each breast and prior to my implants I just had 2 films per side. I think that means I am getting 8 times as much radiation as the mammogram chart states. I’m going to look into that and let you know! In the meantime check out this article on pre-menopausal mammograms.
In the meantime, consider how much radiation are you comfortable with? Remember unequivocally radiation causes cancer.
Stay tuned for more…….