Nation Cooking on Radioactive Countertops

(NEWSER) - The radiation emitted by airport body scanners is up to 20 times more powerful than previously believed, warns a scientist who says current calculations fail to take into account the concentration of scanner radiation in the skin. This would mean the potential cancer risk from scanners is also much higher. Given that 800 million people a year pass through airport scanners, "the population risk has the potential to be significant," Dr. David Brenner tells the Telegraph . More»

The US gets more radiation from scans than any country

(NEWSER) - The top radiation source Americans should be worrying about isn't airport scanners or microwaves—it's medical tests. The US leads the world in the amount of radiation its population gets from medical scans, and the average American's dose has grown more than sixfold in recent decades. Patients are being given far too many imaging tests, warn experts who fear that in a few decades up to 2% of all US cancers may be the result of radiation from CT scans being given now, AP reports. More»

But doctors say she's all-but-certain to recover

(NEWSER) - Nine-time Wimbledon champ Martina Navratilova has breast cancer, reports People , which cites the tennis star's prognosis as excellent. "I cried," she says of her February diagnosis after a routine mammogram. "It knocked me on my ass, really. I feel so in control of my life and my body, and then this comes, and it's completely out of my hands." More»

General diagnosed with prostate cancer in February

(AP) - Gen. David Petraeus was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer in February but underwent successful radiation treatment at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the military disclosed today. A spokesman for Petraeus said the treatment had little effect on the general's job and Petraeus did make at least one overseas trip during his treatment. President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were aware of his diagnosis, reports the AP. More»

Industry is downplaying cancer risks, charges group

(NEWSER) - A new report charges that health organizations and the cell phone industry are downplaying clear links between cell phone use and brain cancer, reports the Los Angeles Times. The latest research shows that cell phone use significantly increases the risk of some kind of tumors, and that young people are most at risk because their brains are still developing, notes the report, issued by a collection of groups concerned about the effects of electromagnetic radiation. More»