Re: Thyroid radiation doses are much too high

["George Cicotte" <cicottegr@HOTMAIL.COM>]

>From the post:



“[Jonsson] . . . worked out that if the patients had instead been exposed to 

a fixed 370 megabecquerels they would have received an average of two-and-a-

half times as much radiation as they needed (Radiation Protection Dosimetry,

vol 108, p 107). . . .



That, Jonsson argues, would breach the recommendation by the International

Commission on "Iodine-131 is highly toxic to young children, increasing the

risk of thyroid cancer even at low doses"



Aren’t we missing the main point?  Graves disease is a life-threatening 

condition.  Perhaps the dose should be optimized, but if the purpose is to 

eliminate/destroy and excise the thyroid, then thyroid cancer is moot.  I am 

not a physician, but I’d bet any responsible doctor would think long and 

hard about how to treat a child when the treatment consists of thyroid 

destruction.



George R. Cicotte



UNOFFICIAL:  The USAF, my employer, has nothing to do with the above 

opinion.



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