I just had an abdominal CT scan and I am LIVID!!!!! I have had tests at this location over the years and have generally felt that this place is run well, but NOT after my experience today!
I told the technician that I was wearing an underwire bra and would quickly remove it. She didn't want to wait 10 seconds and told me it was "unnecessary" to remove it.
After the test, I read on several medical sites that the underwire metal can interfere with test results. There was no reason NOT to remove it since it can interfere with results!
Yes, there is a radiology site that says "interference is minimal" but when having such a test, why would I want the possibility of ANY interference at all , that's right, even "minimal" interference, just because the tech didn't want to wait 10 seconds for me slip my bra off.
Then there's this, which is even more irresponsible:
I realized after the tech left the room and I was in the process of the CT scan that I had NOT been offered a thyroid cover!
Thyroid covers are not just for people with thyroid disease. They are for anyone who would like to avoid the possibility of thyroid disease, i.e. EVERYONE.
There is no excuse for not routinely offering a thyroid cover to EVERY patient who is getting any kind of radiology test unless it's a test to look specifically at the thyroid!
My mother recently fractured her wrist and went to urgent care. She was given a thyroid cover when they x-rayed her HAND. That's how it should be!
Today, I had a large dose of radiation (depending upon how the tech did the scan it's between THREE and EIGHT years' worth of exposure) with no thyroid cover due to Mink not doing due diligence for patients.
I mentioned it to the tech when I was getting up from the test, and she said, "Oh, it's a low dose of radiation!" WHAT? It's NOT a "low dose"
WebMD states "the chance of getting a fatal cancer from any one scan is about 1 in 2000. Some organs are more sensitive to radiation than others. It tends to do more damage to cells that grow and divide quickly. The breasts, lungs, thyroid gland, and bone marrow all have fast-dividing cells, so they are more sensitive than other body parts..."
Why would I want ANY unnecessary radiation to affect my thyroid when handing a thyroid cover to the patient protects from around 80% of it?
I am given a thyroid shield at the dentist's office for x-rays, and that is a MUCH lower dose than what I had today at Mink -- 3 days' worth for the dental x-rays compared with 3 to 8 YEARS worth that I received today concentrated in a few moments:(
Take care of people, do the right thing, Mink! Make sure the tests will be as accurate as possible by letting a patient remove an underwire bra before a CT scan and for the sake of protecting people's health, offer lead thyroid covers to people who are getting tests that will create scattered radiation of the thyroid.
From https://www.orasurgery.com/comparison-of-medical-dental-and-natural-radiation-levels/#:~:text=In%20comparison%2C%20a%20CT%20scan,a%20days'%20worth%20of%20exposure:
"A CT scan of the abdomen ...requires a radiation dose that is 99% greater than an image of your wisdom teeth." This is NOT a "low dose", as the irresponsible technician claimed, just to save a few seconds of her time:(
Shame on Mink for not taking care of patients by offering them thyroid shields! Shame on Mink for doing expensive tests and preferring to have the possibility of skewed results rather than allowing a patient to take a few seconds to remove an underwire bra even when they ask to quickly remove it!
Do better, Mink! read more