Were you offered a Badge?

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RunswithScissors
RunswithScissors Member Posts: 323
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I'm a little slow on the uptake, I guess, but...

this is day 2 of rads tx. I also had a CT scan and some xrays for the set up procedure.

 Today I'm lying there as they're zapping me and I wondered why they don't cover the rest the of your body to protect it? 

So I asked the tech, who gave me some spiel about how the beam is so exact these days.  So I asked, "if it's so safe,  then why do you l have toleave the room?"

She said something about being around it all day every day - and I'm thinking, so there is some residual something... 

Then she said the clincher: "We wear these badges. We never get exposures, unless we forget our badge in the room, that is!"  

UMMMM, that didn't really help me feel any better.  But it did get me thinking - how come patients cumulative exposures are  still not monitored?  (Or, maybe they are and I'm just in some stalled in the past facility?  

Do you have a badge?  Would you if they offered it?   I think i'm going to buy one on my own, just to see what I find...  

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  • KQuigley
    KQuigley Member Posts: 17
    edited December 2009

    Never heard of "badges" so I'm curious as to the responses.

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  • RunswithScissors
    RunswithScissors Member Posts: 323
    edited December 2009

    I talked to my husband about it a bit. People where he works do xray, and they wear the badges while working.

    He said the badges don't monitor how much exposure - it's more or less you either were exposed, or not. He said he thought they are triggered by a very minimal amount, and so if I wore a badge in the room with me, it would certainly light up -  so it would just waste the money of having the badge.

     So I wanted to learn more. Like, as an employee, what happens if a badge lights up?  What if it happens every day?  What if it happens every day for 28 or more days?  

     The more I learn, the less "safe" this sounds....    

    Anyone out there who works in this field who can give us more info? 

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  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited December 2009

    OK, I'm not a medical professional, but I did look into this before rads, so here's my understanding.

    The rads beam is very focused to get to the area they want to treat and no further. There is a bit of scatter, but your treatment has been detrmined by the amount of rads (measured in "gray, Gy) you need for you particular diagnosis and how much you can handle. This number is then divided into the amount of Gy you can handle each day. There is scatter as I said, but it's not more radiation but part of the amount that has beed decided you can handle.

    As far as I know, the badges are kind of an "early warning system" for people working in the field, not a protection. 

    Leah

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  • hollyann
    hollyann Member Posts: 2,992
    edited December 2009

    As a former Radiologist Assisitant, I can tell you for sure those "badges" actually tell how much radiation THEY have been exposed to over a long period of time.....If it turns a certain color it means they have been exposed to too much radiation......Hope this helps.....

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  • JulieL
    JulieL Member Posts: 57
    edited December 2009

    Hi All,

    I am an x-ray tech and we are monitored for cummulative dose over our careers. If our badge reading is high we are given notice and it is investigated. I have been in the field for 25+ years working in the rooms where "fluoro" is used and have never had a high dose letter or any need for further investigation. The newer CT scanners that are out have the ability to monitor dose and record it in the system. I think this is excellent for patients such as us that may require multiple exams throughout our lives. I have had multiple CT scans and have even signed up for research programs using CT. I don't attribute my cancer to the scanning but I did have a cardiac CTA last year and my breasts weren't shielded. My dose was low so I never gave my CT exposure a second thought. I figure there is always MRI or PETCT once I've had enough CT. Those are the other options. Always ask for shielding of areas that are not being scanned. The facility where I work is now investigating a breast shield during scanning for women so that it is fit to the area and the scatter radiation is not going up under the shielding. I can definitely say that the staff where I work have always shielded me of which I am thankful for.

    Julie 

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