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Is It Safe To Expose A 2 Week Old Child To Thyroid Cancer Patient Undergoing Radiation Therapy ?

Posted on Tue, 1 May 2012

Question: My sister is undergoing radiation therapy for thyroid cancer and has been secluded in her bedroom at home and her children have been staying with my mother. This past weekend my sister came over to my mothers house to see the children. Then this morning I had a medical emergency and my mother had to babysit my 2 week old. Do you think my child was exposed to radiation?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (3 hours later)

Hello Krystin,

Thanks for writing to us.

Radiation therapy is given only to the area which is producing abnormal cancer cells. The whole body is never exposed even in the patient who is suffering from cancer. The patient him/her self is not a source of radiations.

Your sister is getting an exposure only in the hospital. Theses radiations remain in that well protected chamber only. Once she comes out from there she does not emit any radiations from her body.
So, your baby is safe and you need not worry about him.

I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. If there are additional concerns, I am available for your followups.

Regards,

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar