CT scan radiation exposure: How much is too much?

My sister’s been going through the ringer lately with all these medical tests. Over the last five years, she’s had five MRIs, twenty X-rays, and two CT scans. The most recent one was a brain scan, but they used a brand-new machine at the hospital. I’m just wondering how much radiation she’s actually soaked up at this point. What are the odds of this causing cancer? And is there even a way to neutralize the effects of radiation exposure?

There’s zero proven evidence that MRI scans cause harm to the human body. When you’re looking at X-rays or CT scans, though, things get more complicated—it all comes down to which specific areas are being imaged, how long the scan lasts, and the actual gap between sessions. That makes it incredibly difficult to predict whether there will be any lasting consequences. Sure, we can use math to estimate the absorbed dose, but even then, we have no way of knowing exactly how an individual's body is going to react. In principle, there shouldn't be any issues. The general rule of thumb is that you shouldn't need a CT scan more than once a year, but honestly, having two won't result in anything catastrophic. You could even have five without seeing major problems. It’s all relative.