How safe is Radiation Oncology in terms of radiation exposure for prolonged periods?
Started by kcumbDO
kcumbDO said:
Very safe. You carry dosimetry badges at all times in the Department to be sure of course. You would be surprised how low the cumulative dose is for faculty who have been practicing for 20-30 years.
Interventional cardiologists get TONS more than radiation oncologists. Other than low dose brachytherapy, I can think of little to no exposure. LDR is really decreasing in favor of HDR at many places, which is remote afterloaded. I would say prostate brachy is the biggest danger because of open sources and fluoro by the urologist.
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rad onc can have considerable eye exposure if you are doing a fair amount of brachytherapy. i know of countless attendings in private practice and academic doing a lot of brachy and developed cataracts in their late 50s. so it's definitely a concern. you can be sure i'll leave the brachy to someone else, despite the high reimbursement on these procedures.
the big thing people forget however is that cataracts are easily treatable. dont get me wrong, you want to minimize exposure, but cataracts aren't a big problem. you can always wear led lens glasses made for the cause (really).
