How long does radiation stay in the body? i had a cat scan at 36 (8 msv) am curious how that affects my cumulative radiation if my cells healed?

Forever: The most serious harm of radiation damage to the DNA in our cells. The body can undo some of this damage, but there is no way to know how much damage remains. That's why the radiation received never expires. DNA damage that isn't fixed by our cells is passed on to other cells, and thus stays with us forever. That's why it's important to avoid radiation as much as possible.

We are exposed: to radiation every day of our lives. A single CT scan is equivalent to approximately a year of environmental radiation exposure. Low level radiation does NOT always cause DNA damage, but it CAN cause DNA damage, which is why we try to limit the amount of CTs we get. A single CT barely raises your lifetime cancer risk above baseline, but ask your doctors to limit your exposure as much as possible.

0: Radiation doesn't stay in your body. What may remain is damage to DNA. Our bodies repair damaged DNA so small amounts like you received should not worry you. Larger amounts may damage the DNA beyond repair. Check out these links. https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20090826/too-much-radiation-from-medical-imaging#1 https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/submenu.cfm?pg=safety