CAT scan yes or no?

You have to do a basic risk/reward analysis. Is the risk of you having an ailment great enough to outweigh going through a procedure that will harm your body?

Slicing in to your body with a knife is harmful, but if there is a bullet inside you, it is worth it to do so.

Sticking a probe up my anus because the doctor says "You could have butt cancer, who knows? Let's screen you for it" is not.

I always remember the stat that the #3 cause of death in hospitals is malpractice. So unless you are suffering from #1 or #2 (I think it's heart attack and stroke) you are statistically better off avoiding them.

You gotta put it all in perspective, too. I generally avoid x-rays (and NEVER use the TSA body scanners) but I accepted a dental x ray the other day because I needed some dental work at the local dental school who insists on doing so for new patients. They are < 1/2 the price of regular dentists, and the work is overseen by university professors. They claim it helps detect cavities, and I hadn't been to the dentist since covid, so I agreed, since I was not getting regular checkups recently and wanted to make sure everything was good. Was the x ray needed? No. Did it harm me? Yes. But I agreed. Will I do it again? No. I don't think one procedure is gonna kill you. But it all has a cumulative effect on your body.
 
You have this backward. We absolutely have knowledge of deterministic effects of ionizing radiation (and good guesses about stochastic effects), while we have no clue about MRI effects, except for that they are not in the former category and don't appear to increase risk for [potential] DNA damage.
Given your medical background you are in expert in this area if you have the spare time do you mind giving a long post about the advantages, disadvantages and risks of :
-MRIs
-CT scans
-X-rays
-Ultrasound
 
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