I was really shocked of the statement, “RADIATION DOES NOT CAUSE CANCER BUT IT CURES CANCER”, attributed to the learned Dr Darius Osei, whilst reading the article “DEATH SCARE AT SSNIT HOSPITAL”. I begged myself and my American co-workers to believe that Dr Osei comments might have been misquoted or misinterpreted. But till now the learned MD has not come out to correct the erroneous statement, even after a rejoinder by one S.Y. Opoku. My fellow country men radiation not only causes cancer, it leads to death depending on the amount of radiation one is exposed to.
If Dr Osei does not believe, he should check the history of radiation since its discovery by Wilhelm C. Roentgen in 1895. Roentgen’s wife died of over-exposure to radiation, because she was used for by the husband for experiment without knowing its biological effect. C.M. Daly, an assistant to the tube maker Thomas Edison also died from cancer from radiation in 1904. Ghanaians are abuse because of the lack of knowledge about the biologic, somatic and genetic effects of radiation. Bribery, weak legal system and corruption are some of the reasons why there is a high rate of medical malpractice with no one to punish this MDs. Unnecessary exposure to radiation results in nausea, loss of hair, skin erythema(epilation), reduction in white blood cells, temporary sterility, cancer and death depending on the amount or quantity of radiation used. Dr Osei made reference to the CT scanner employees who work with the machine. Please Dr Osei, wake up this the twenty-first century, and you and I know that no employee stay in the room during the exam and the glass window, where they sit is line with lead shield, which is the only tool that can stop radiation from getting to them.
The hospital need to check with Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) if the wall of CT room were all lined with lead before the CT scanner was installed. Remember that radiation penetrate through everything including concrete walls, except lead. So it can be true that, radiation from the scanner, which has a higher dose than regular x-ray, might have been penetrating through the walls to the injecting room. The hospital also needs to place a dosimeter in all the rooms that share walls with the CT room, to ensure that there is no leakage radiation getting to those rooms. The RSO also need to provide the nurses in the injection room and all adjoining room with a film badge and also ensure that the films are accurately at the end of the month. Sometimes the effect of radiation does not manifest in the person exposed, but genetically in the person’s unborn children (birth defects or malformation. This are all standards set by the ICRP that Dr D. Osei and the RSO(if the hospital has one) must know. Debunking the nurses statements and making comparison with CT employees who have a broad knowledge about radiation can never be the solution. If Dr Osei is smart, why not switch your office with the injecting room and have a feel of the SCARE.
Radiologic Technologist New York Presbyterian Hospital
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