There’s always something to worry about. Just a few weeks shy of my first radiation treatment, comes this article in the Sunday New York Times: “A Lifesaving Tool Turned Deadly--Radiation Offers Powerful New Cures, and Ways to do Harm.”

The gist of the article is that operators of radiation machinery can rely too heavily on the computer-controlled devices. When the software acts up, improper data is fed in, or warning signals are given out by the system, operators don’t always check for, or catch, the mistakes. A review of state records in New York found there were 621 radiation mistakes from January 2001 to January 2009. The errors included: wrong dose given, wrong patient treated, the beams missed all or part of the intended target.

The personal stories cited in the article included two where egregious errors were committed. One resulted in a man’s head and neck being over-radiated. He died of his horrible injuries after two years of suffering. The second left a breast cancer patient with a burning, gaping hole in her chest. She too died in terrible pain.

Even when everything is done properly, Dr. John J. Feldmeier, a radiation oncologist at the University of Toledo and a leading authority on radiation injuries, estimates that one in twenty patients will suffer injuries, according to the Times piece. Most of these are “normal complications.”

I wonder whether these complications include the organ damage and radiation-induced cancer that can be caused and might not show up for decades.

A diagram of an Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (I.M.R.T.) machine accompanies the Times story. The image is daunting. The individual silhouetted on the table looks like a tiny doll being swallowed by an enormous maw. The I.M.R.T. machine is likely not the type that will be used for my treatment. However, I do like to engage in anticipatory worrying.

I’ve checked the http://www.breastcancer.org/ web site to find out more about radiation therapy. Online, the doctors suggest asking questions I would never have thought of. A sample: Does the radiation oncologist use 3-dimensional treatment planning systems? Are there certified physicists involved with the planning? Is there a certified dosimetrist?

I had to look up “dosimetrist.” Turns out it’s just like it sounds. A dosimetrist, according to http://www.cancer.gov/, “determines the proper radiation dose for treatment.”

And we’ll leave it there for now.