New York Times Investigation: Radiation Medical Errors & Malpractice

Radiation is one of the most effective ways that doctors know how to fight cancer – but a recent investigative report in the New York times has many NYC residents worried that their cancer treatments might be dangerous as far too many patients receive radiation overdoses while others don’t receive enough.

Many radiation errors are blamed on the complex devices that release the radiation – devices that are difficult for medical technicians to use even after training. These machines are very accurate and very good at fighting cancer, but overdoses are common in hospitals who are struggling with new devices. In one case, a man received twice his dose of radiation over 38 treatments – a medical error that destroyed his overall health.

Another problem is outdated safety protocols – many new radiation devices have software and the bugs that come with it, and hospitals are not equipped to determine if the technology is working correctly. Government regulations are also lacking since so much technology in hospitals is a new development. In 32 states, medical physicists need little or no licensing in order to operate radiation machines. In many cases, a miscalibrated machine can overradiate dozens of patients over a series of months before a problem is discovered.

In just the last year, thousands of patients have been overradiated, with many not discovering the problem until their hair began to fall out. In some cases, the symptoms of over radiation have been covered by the side effects of chemotherapy. While many patients eventually die of the cancer that initially required radiation therapy, many believe that their loved ones lived shorter lives and suffered pain from the effects of radiation during their final months and years.

All in all, some believe that as many as 15 to 20 percent of patients receiving radiation treatment do not get the correct amount of radiation or do not receive radiation in the correct areas.