For every individual, living a healthy lifestyle also includes having regular examinations or check-ups to confirm that everything is going all right with your health. More so, several studies show that earlier detection of diseases, especially life-threatening ones, may lead to more cures or longer survival.
To this end, a full-body health scan is an essential preventative procedure with several benefits. “But I go for basic checks once in a while…”
Well, a full-body scan is a more advanced form of medical check-up involving the use of high-tech imaging equipment to spot and treat potential health problems before they occur.
Can you get a full-body scan? Yes, you can and should. We’ll dwell more on this later.
Full-body scanning can help you take control of your health–make you proactive, and help you know if you’re at risk of developing life-threatening diseases. So, if you’re wondering what the benefits of a full-body scan are or how to get a full-body scan, we’ll walk you through some important details and facts that can help you make the best decision for your health.
Let’s start with a basic understanding…
What Is a Full-Body Scan?
Simply put, a full-body scan is a procedure that involves using modern state-of-the-art imaging technology to get an in-depth look into a patient’s entire body. The procedure, which is usually performed with the aid of Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), allows your physician to get images of your body’s anatomy so that they can get a clear and detailed look at what’s going on inside your body.
In most cases, getting a full scan often involves a comprehensive artery scan, a scan of the abdomen, and a scan of the pelvis. Basically, with full-body scanning, physicians can get images of your internal system, which they can use to check for tumors, anatomical abnormalities, and other signs of disease.
For instance, a full-body scan can detect cancerous nodules, aortic aneurysms, kidney stones, cysts, and enlarged spleen, which could result in life-threatening conditions later on in life.
One good reason to get a full-body scan is that it allows your doctor to diagnose life-threatening abnormalities early and begin treatment right away. But that’s not all.
Why Are Full-Body Scans Important?
As we mentioned earlier, maintaining a healthy lifestyle means keeping a close eye on your body at all times. In several instances, people have lost their lives to illnesses like heart disease, stroke, or cancer because the symptoms of the disease weren’t identified early enough to start treatment.
Also, statistics show that early detection of diseases like cancer greatly increases the chances of successful treatment.
This is why full-body scans are important. Full body scans use advanced ultrafast technology that provides a more accurate and detailed scan than conventional methods. These high-tech techniques can detect signs of abnormalities in the body long before these problems manifest with physical symptoms or pain.
In line with these, some benefits of getting full-body health scans include the following:
- It helps lookout for risk factors that make a person vulnerable to certain diseases.
- Body scans help find abnormalities and nip diseases in the bud before they progress to a point where medicine cannot heal.
- Early detection can prolong life spans because the earlier these health problems are discovered, the better, and you can start working with your doctor immediately to see if there’s a treatment. Conditions detected in their earlier stages can often be effectively treated using minimally invasive procedures.
When can you get a full-body scan?
Several factors come into play in deciding whether or not a full-body scan is right for you. Some of the most important ones are age, genetics, and lifestyle.
To help you decide, you can first examine your risk factors for developing diseases or check if you fit into some of these categories.
- You have a family history of coronary artery disease.
- You have a family history of aneurysms.
- You are overweight.
- You are sedentary.
- You are 40+ years old.
- You have high cholesterol, diabetes, or high blood pressure.
- You smoke at least one pack of cigarettes per day for a minimum of 10 years. Even if you do not smoke anymore, you still have a higher lung cancer risk.
If you meet any of these criteria, you should certainly consider getting a full-body scan, so your doctor can see how the organs inside your body are performing and decide if you need any treatment.
What to Expect When Getting Your Body Scan
Full-body scanning is a painless, non-invasive procedure that usually lasts around a mere 10 minutes or so.
Here at CBS, we do not use contrast, iodine, or beta-blockers in our scanning process, and this helps to reduce risks and side effects. However, because there is some exposure to radiation, this scan is not suitable for pregnant women.
Once it’s time for your scan, you’ll need to change into a hospital gown, remove any jewelry or glasses that could cause an inaccurate reading, then lay down on a moving table that slides through the scanner.
During the scanning process, the scanner will take pictures of your body. These images will be sent to your physician for evaluation upon request only. Simple as that.
What Can a Full-Body Scan Detect?
Since a full-body scan produces images of a person’s anatomy with detail and clarity, it makes it easy for the physician to examine. That being the case, full-body scans can detect signs of heart disease, cancer, and other irregularities in the body.
- Lung: a full-body health scan helps in the early detection of cancerous nodules, which can be treated early to prevent lung cancer.
- Heart: full-body scanning can detect aortic aneurysms and calcium within plaques in the coronary arteries.
- Full body scans make it easy to detect kidney stones, cysts, enlarged lymph nodes, large masses, an enlarged spleen, and a fatty liver in the abdomen region.
- Full body scans can also track the size of a tumor and show bone fractures and muscle inflammation.
Can You Get a Full-Body Cancer Scan?
Yes, you can.
For persons with a high risk of cancer, getting a full-body scan may help you feel more at ease and allow your doctor to detect abnormalities as early as possible.
It’s no news that cancer often goes undetected until it’s in an advanced stage because many signs and symptoms, like persistent fatigue, cough, pain, or lack of appetite, are overlooked. However, with a full-body scan, your doctor can easily identify possible cancer symptoms and determine how far the disease has spread.
If you have a family history of cancer or are at high risk, you should have regular body screenings every year. But if you’re unsure whether a whole-body scan would be appropriate for you, consult a familiar physician with your particular situation.
Here at Craft Body Scan, we do not diagnose cancer based on full-body scans. However, we have a team of medical professionals who can help you review your overall health risks, perform an individualized assessment and explain how a scan may or may not help you.
Getting a Full-Body Scan With Craft Body Scan
Our goal at Craft Body Scan is to help you take control of your health by providing access to specialists and physicians dedicated to the early detection of heart and cancer disease.
Getting a full-body scan with us starts with a consultation that helps our team understand your unique medical history and current health status. After that, you’re scheduled for your scan, which allows our healthcare professionals to monitor your heart and lungs and your entire abdomen and pelvic area—we analyze your liver, spleen, gallbladder, pancreas, spine, kidneys, and prostate gland.
Our process is non-invasive, and our low-dose scanner can detect signs of silent killers. After the scan, you will receive a comprehensive report that will be sent to you and your physician if requested.
Best Full Body Scan Near You
To ensure a safe and healthy future, you should not underestimate the importance of regular health check-ups. Since many diseases have no symptoms during their onset stages, it’s best to catch them as early as possible by getting a full-body health scan. Many individuals have certain family members who died of illnesses like heart attacks and strokes that could have been prevented or treated if detected early enough.
If you are in the OKC area, Tulsa, or Raleigh making multiple web searches for a full-body scan near me, you can email us at info@crafthealth.com or call us at 918.879.6161 to schedule a fast, easy, and accurate health assessment that could save your life.
It is important to note that CBS only conducts scans to detect abnormalities that may lead to life-threatening cancer or heart disease – we do not scan for cancer. Your doctor would use the scan results and radiologist’s notes to make a proper diagnosis and determine your condition.
