Diy Cancer Test Kits Put Lives at Risk

DOCTORS today warned that people are putting their lives at risk by using DIY cancer tests.

More than Pounds 65 million was spent last year on home healthtesting kits, available via the internet and by mail order, that promise to screen for cancer and other diseases.

But a report by the British Medical Association (BMA) called for curbs on the kits, warning that they were potentially dangerous.

The report, Population Screening and Genetic Testing, by Dr Stephen Laitner, a consultant in public health, said the “MOT test” which involves a whole body CT scan, exposed the patient to high doses of ionising radiation.

The dose was equivalent to 100 chest X-rays, a significant risk in otherwise healthy people.

Private firms are cashing in on those referred to as the “worried well”, who undergo expensive scans, blood tests and allergy screening unnecessarily.

The BMA’s head of science and ethics, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said: “People are having unnecessary tests and are wasting their money.”