The votes followed a public hearing on retention that saw many emotional moments about adverse reactions, including from a representative of Gena Norris, the wife of famed action-star Chuck Norris. After a series of scans with gadolinium, she suffered severe abdominal pain.

She has resorted to treating her condition with an expensive professional hyperbaric chamber.


"My heart breaks for those who don't have the financial means they need," she added. "We will continue to use our platform to raise awareness about the dangers of gadolinium."

That said, despite the risks of retention, Dr. Elizabeth Morris, past president of the Society of Breast Imaging and a breast radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, called its use essential and a “lifesaving test."

Also advising caution against an overreaction, Dr. Scott Reeder, of the University of Wisconsin, advised that, "it is important to consider the importance of the benefits of gadolinium in treating patients with a wide variety of diseases, as well as the standard safety record of these agents."

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