Word: scanned
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...first commercially available CT scanner in the early 1970s. CT was a huge plus: It could image so many things in the body that were difficult, painful or simply impossible to see otherwise - brain tumors, spine problems, problems in the liver or lung. Nevertheless, in the '90s, CT scans were largely upstaged by the vastly more complex - but radiation-free - MRI scan. Overall, few docs would disagree that the MRI is a better test. Except for being somewhat less sharp when looking at bone, MRI is clearly more sensitive and versatile. But CT scanning has made a huge comeback...
...least one reason for the overuse of CT is certainly financial. Major insurers still pay fairly well for the scans. While it's true that advanced technology has made CT machines better, faster and more affordable over the years, the only thing that's really different now versus five years ago is that more hospitals are going bankrupt - they need to be a lot keener at making money to survive. So, for starters, they're hiring doctors: The hospital pays them a salary while billing for the services they order or perform. (Doctors in private practice, unlike hospital-employed doctors...
...question is, can truly rational decisions be made regarding their use? The statistics are hard to calculate. It would take all the computers at the Mayo clinic to compare the real risk to your life of doing a CT scan in a given situation with that of not doing one. And if the doctor can't compute that risk, there's no real way that a second-guessing patient can. But you can, and should, be more than a little reticent to have a CT scan unless it's absolutely needed...
...absolutely necessary with head trauma and acute abdominal conditions. Minutes can make a difference in these cases - if, say, there's bleeding around your brain and you can't get an MRI - and the speed of a CT scan makes it worth the risk. But in most other situations, it's wise to let the doctor convince you it's worth it, before consenting to the scan. Ask your doctor what decisions he or she plans to make with the information from the scan. What other tests could yield the same information? Would an MRI be better...
...reality is that in some cases, you'll need a CT scan. If so, just remember that for you to be there, breathing, you've already beaten the odds of sickness and death any number of times. And you'll probably beat the CT-cancer odds too. If the doctor's answer to your questions, however, is something like "Well, why not do a CT scan?" or "A CT scan would show it too" or "A CT scan would rule out something rare" my response would be "Why not skip the scan?" One in fifty cancers is a hard number...