Cancer Discussions - December 14th, 2009 - 5 Comments
My husband is working in an empty radiation room for cancer patients. I am 3 mo pregnant?
My husband is working in a treatment center for cancer, he was in radiation rooms. I am 3 mo pregnant and want to know if it can affect the baby.
You and your unborn child are at a no risk of harm because your husband works in a radiation treatment center.
What exactly does your husband do there? Is he a clinician? or a tecnician? or is he doing non-medically related things in the area? If your husband is a clinician whom is regularly exposed to patients recieving radiation … he would know how to protect HIMSELF from the radiation . If he is not directly doing medically related things… and just happens to be working in an area where patients recieve treatment … it is the responsibility of the workers (who know and understand the treatment) to protect and prevent him from being harmed by the radiation the patients are recieving. … (ie. this is as simple as locking/closing the door during times at which patients are being treated).
Radiation treatment facilites are designed so that the delivery of the radiation is directed to the exact spot where a tumor is in a patients’ body (the radiation is HIGHLY targeted to prevent/minimize damage to healthy tissue)… Therefore, it doesn’t "leak" or "escape" the immediate area of treatment (the rooms are also radiation proof, the the radiation cannot penetrate the room-walls). Furthermore, radiation-energy does not "travel" with people … it’s almost like a light, it only "shines" on what is directly in front of it … but, when the switch is turned of … the light is also turned off and cannot be carried somewhere else.
No. First, he isnt exposed to any radiation. When the patient is getting radiation, they are in a room that has something like 2 feet of steel between them and any other persons. When your husband is in the room, the machine is not turned on and he is not being exposed to the radition.
But even if he was exposed to radiation, it doesnt work like that. It doesnt stay in the body to be radiated out. Its no different than going and getting an xray, only the radiation is at a far higher dose. Would you be asking this if he broke his arm and had to have it xrayed?
And if the room is empty, there is no machine producing radiation. The radiation doesnt build up and stay in the room no more than the radiation from regular x rays do.
If he can, why dont you have him bring you to the hospital and give you a tour? Its actually kind of interesting, when you arent the one being radiated.
People who work in radiology know how to protect themselves against radiation transmitted by the machines. They are well protected against radiation. I don’t believe that your baby will be affected.
Only if he drug you in the room and turned on the radiation.
All the information about cancer with photos and patient guidelines are available on http://www.cancerssociety.org