Nuclear Commission fines VA over botched prostate cancer radiation therapies

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is being fined for botching 97 of 116 procedures to treat prostate cancer among men seeking care at the agency's medical center in Philadelphia. Although the punishment, which adds up to a mere $227,500, might not sound like more than a slap on the wrist, it is coming from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and is one of the largest the commission has ever given out for medical mistakes.

Whereas the NRC might be more in the habit of checking up on nuclear power plants or old weapons facilities, it is also charged with monitoring medical treatments that involve radiation. So after the Philadelphia VA facility was found to have botched 83 percent of prostate cancer radiation therapy procedures, the NRC announced this week that the department has a month to pay up or contest the charges.