My dear wife really made me feel appreciated when we got the mail and inside was information that she had ordered from Milwaukee Heart and Body Scan. She's a baseball fan and with so many recent heart attacks wanted me to be scanned. I'm scheduled for an age 40 work up with special emphasis on a family history of colorectal cancer. (Lucky me) But I've read that some consider these bady/heart scan places snake oil operations. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of this subject. $1000 is pretty cheap and probably the best survival preparation I could imagine. Then again I like being an informed consumer, and unfortunately for some very specific reasons, I have developed great skepticism of the medical profession.<br><br>Thanks

There is a pretty good discussion here that I think is right on point http://www.jsonline.com/alive/column/mar02/24711.asp. Looks like the jury is still pretty much out on the efficacy of the procedure, but it looks like something that might be promising. Good luck!<br><br>Robb<br>

This is the view of a family physician (namely me!). This in no way constitutes a consultation and is merely some personal advice. If indoubt always consult your own physician.<br><br>Health screening is always a hotly contested and controvesial topic. Advising patients the tests which should be done should always be in a clinical setting and after taking a good clinical history and a full physical examination. <br>Not by choosing a package from the place selling the body scan package.<br><br>Firstly, about full body scans. There is controversy as to the ability of these scans to perform what they claim to be able to scan. <br>1 .Heart disease ?Do calcium deposits in your coronary arteries mean that you have or will develop heart disease? This is highly contentious. There are more important indicators of heart disease. Family history , smoking history, obesity, elevated lipid levels, diabetes, evidence of decreased effort tolerance etc, if you have any of these you should be assessed by your physician<br><br>2.Lung cancer ?- lung cancers are notoriously difficult to detect, even with such screening tools. This is much better than a chest X-ray definitely, but does a normal scan mean that you don't have lung cancer? Again, history of smoking, exposure to industrial chemicals/debris - eg asbestos, silica,family history of lung cancer, frequent coughing for more than a month should be investigated as well.<br><br>3. Gastrointestinal cancers<br>Scans are pretty poor for intestinal cancers, better for solid organ cancers e.g. liver / kidney/ pelvic organs. But screening for cancers in this way are expensive and not likely to be productive. Again, history and physical examination are all important. A stool occult blood test with colonoscopy yields better result than a scan of the abdomen.<br><br>Most of these investigations are unneccessary and also unneccessarily expensive too. Your best bet is to seek your family physician's advice and speak to him regarding and particular health concerns. A physical and blood work + ECG / CXR would probably be more practical and yield more information than a whole body scan. Of course if you have the moolah and a previous health screen by a physician has given you a clean bill of health, and you want to get scanned, no one is stopping you. It is just not a good screening tool on its own and a pretty poor predictor of health.<br><br>Investigations should always be ordered to suit the individual based on his history, physical examination, and particular concerns. Not a package. In my country, we pay for all our health care costs on our own. The health care system is not insurance based NOR is it driven by insurance. (That's another story altogether :-) ) That's why we have to be very selective in which tests we order for our patients, although we have the same types of tests and investigative equipment that are available to you guys in the states, it costs a lot more, and it comes out of your own pocket!<br><br>This is just my 2 cents worth.