Taking x-rays at work...should I stop??

[baz5]

I work at a Veterinary Hospital where i perform x-rays on pets.  I have Hypothyroidism, Hashimotos and alot of nodules on my thyroid.  Today i went to get the bigger one biopsied...results should be back by tuesday.  Should i stay away from radiation from now on??  We do use proctecive sheilding but as you know....its not a wall.  I have been in subjected to radiation from my work for about 18 years now...should i be concerned???

[yellowbean]

Thyroid nodules are very common, especially women (about 4x more common then in men).  As people age there is a tendency to develop new nodules (about 3/4 of 70 yo's will have a least one); however the vast majority of these are benign.  Transformation of a benign nodule to a malignant nodule is a very rare occurrence, and may simply represent a cancer that grew within the nodule and not necessarily transformation of the cancer from the nodule.  After all nodules are still thyroid tissue, and a cancer can develop from normal thyroid tissue, and could also develop from the thyroid tissue in a nodule (sorry if that seems confusing).

So in all likely hood, your thyroid nodule is much more likely to just be an incidental occurrence than a result of radiation exposure, and the risk of one of these nodules forming a cancer is very small (in fact it is probably as likely or more likely for someone who has a nodule to develop cancer somewhere else in the thyroid as opposed to within the nodule itself), and having nodules isn't really considered a risk factor for developing thyroid cancer to begin with.

The thyroid is a very radiosensitive organ.  There are specific thyroid shields that wrap around the neck and cover the thyroid.  Depending on the nature of your exposure, or just for added precaution, a thyroid shield would be a very reasonable thing to wear...

Lastly, here is a pamplet from the American Thyroid Association that has some good information for you.  http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochures/Nodules_brochure.pdf

[Garry Choy, MD, MS]

Thanks yellowbean for the great discussion.  The American Thyroid Association information sheet on nodules is excellent -- I agree with all the efforts to minimize dose as much as possible following the "ALARA" principle - As low as reasonably achievable.

Best regards.

[yellowbean]

Your welcome.  Radiation exposure is something to take serious and it is important to take appropriate precautions, but not something that I personally believe should keep you from doing what you need to do with the appropriate protections.

And...although you receive radiation exposure from your job, it is important to realize that even if you quit taking X-rays tommorrow, you are constantly being exposed to radiation from other sources, so it is not as if you can ever escape ALL exposure...In fact flying in an airplane accross the continent results in significant exposure from cosmic radiation, which has been equated to be at about the level of recieving a chest x-ray or two...As a matter of fact, although not classified as such, pilots and flight attendants are really radiation workers, and they have much higher radiation exposures than the general non-flying population...

There is also radiation from the earth from decay of naturally occuring radioactive materials...

[baz5]

Thank you so very much!  You definitely have put my mind at ease.  I do wear the thyroid shield, gloves and apron when taking xrays :)

[baz5]

Thanks for replying :) .  I guess i was mostly worried about the tumors on my thyroid.  I had a biopsy done and they were benign.  I was just wondering that since i already have tumors that can turn malignant then should i be even more cautious?

[yellowbean]

Radiation exposure in general increases the risk of various malignancies, and does so in a dose dependent way, so the greater your exposure the greater your risks...But, there are many, many people that work with radiation routinely that do not develop cancer related to the radiation exposure.  

The important thing is that you follow safe practices.  Wear appropriate protective equipment.  Reduce exposure by keeping yourself as far away from the radiation source as possible, remember radiation exposure decreases by distance cubed, so doubling the distance between you and the radiation source decreases your exposure by a factor of 8.  Use lead gloves and lead glass shields as much as possible.  If you are involved in fluoroscopy, leaded glasses are important as the lens of the eye is very sensitive to radiation compared to other tissues of the body.

No amount of exposure is "completely" safe, but being smart and using protective equipment will greatly reduce any risks.  

On a side note, Hashimoto's is an autoimmune related thyroiditis, and as far as I am aware there is no causitive link between auto-immune related disorders and radiation exposure.