mgoodman Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Hi, I am already a breast cancer survivor so this really upset me. While selling our home, we found out we were exposed to very high levels of radon in our home, which they say is the second leading cause of lung cancer. I tested the home in 1999 and the readings were low, so I don't know what happened. I have never smoked, so that is good. I am worried about my health now and don't know what to do. Should I have testing and if so what, or should I just go on. Even though radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer there are only about 22,000 lung cancer deaths because of radon in the country, a very small amount. How do any of us know what we are exposed to in our environment. Your help and guidance please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I have had the same concern. My mom was a non-smoker. My dad smoked, but quit about 20 years ago. We had high radon levels in the basement (4 times the EPA action level). My mom did renovations on houses to rent out. (They were extremely dusty, old) She did not have mesothelioma (so I guess there was no asbestos). I guess I would just watch out for symptoms, unresolved pneumonia is what happened to my mom. Unfortunately, most Drs don't take radon exposure too seriously because the risk is actually low compared to smokers. If there is a family history I would be a little more vigilent. I am in the same quandary. Most doctors will do an X-ray if you have persistent cough, but no CT scan. Though x-rays often don't find LC early enough. Unfortunately there still is no blood test or any other test that will find LC early except a spiral CT scan. spiral CT scans are supposed to show too many false positives, though this can be prevented by doing serial scans to detect growth It is a tough call. As you said LC due to radon is fairly rare. 22000 deaths vs 35000 deaths due to flu. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/conte ... r_Risk.asp I would be interested in what Dr Joe has to say on this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connie B Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I know I am not an expert, and the fact that we have been asked to not ring into posts on this Forum, however, I felt this was worth sharing with everyone. Please check with your local American Lung Association regarding Radon in the home or having to do with your health. They have a lot of information regarding this subject and they continue to look into this issue as well. They even have a breathing test they offer to people. This test was offered to all the people that attended our Lung Cancer Awareness Event two years ago from ALA here in Minnesota. Not enough information is out there regarding Radon poison and ALA is working on it. I also just want to add that sometimes the air we breath is worse for us then Radon. Try not to hit that panic button. I understand your concern, but you will drive yourself nuts if you let all this stuff get to you. Go have yourself checked out. My thoughts are with you. Best wishes. Connie B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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