Full-Body Scans: Six Things You Should Know About Them

If you’re considering having a full-body scan done, then you won’t be alone. Thanks to modern medicine, you can have early tests to find any faults within your body before they develop into something more sinister through an MRI machine. Here are six reasons as to why.  

What A Full-Body Scan Is

Simply put, a full-body MRI scan is a low-risk yet highly accurate piece of technology that is used to screen patients for cancer or other diseases. It’s an incredibly useful asset for medical staff, as they can find out issues early, and begin treatment.

A full-body scan will be able to look at several organs within your body, from the brain to the pancreas. It will look at the tissues and layers within organs, to find out if anything is alarming or a cause for concern.

What An MRI Will Detect

People will have an MRI scan for different reasons, but the base use will always be the same. They wish to detect anomalies and lesions such as cysts and tumors. There could be an unexplained lump on your breast or some symptoms that are cause for concern. A scan could find abnormalities within your soft tissues that are cause for alarm. Issues such as bleeding, infections, inflammatory conditions, or swelling in general. 

Many doctors and medical experts turn to MRI machines to have a deeper look at the cardiovascular system or the heart in general. It can look into problems within blood vessels, such as any structural defects or possible aneurysms. Otherwise, it can look into general heart damage or diffusion.

Specialist doctors known as radiologists will conduct the scans and look at the results to find out if an abnormality is cancer or is just benign. A radiologist will also be able to work out if there are any signs of metastases, which shows that cancer has advanced to spread to other areas of the body.

A doctor may recommend you have an MRI scan if you are at risk for any cancers, such as breast cancer or prostate. Some lung cancer will also be able to be detected here. Your doctor may recommend you have the scan with them, or you may have to look elsewhere depending on your financial situation.

Eligibility For A Scan

Whilst a scan is incredibly useful for detecting signs of cancer, it is not something that will be provided to you outright unless you have a pre-existing condition. This means you may have to look for yourself to get a scan done. Consider using Ezra’s full-body MRI service which can help you take more control over your healthcare. Women will be able to get screenings for their breasts, uterus, ovaries, colon, and rectum. Whilst men will be able to have a screening for cancers within the colon, rectum, and prostate.

You will need to work with your doctors to set up your scan, which will involve a medical check to ensure you are good to go. They will prepare you with everything you need to know closer to the day.

Risks Associated

The good news is that this type of scan is largely safe to take part in. That’s because MRIs are a non-invasive type of medical procedure, that just takes pictures of the insides of your body.

This means that for most, they will be safe. The only danger can come from if you have any metal inside of your body. This will include pacemakers, implants, and plates within you. Even metal fragments within your eyes or body can be cause for concern.

That is why you should alert the technician on the day, or your doctor beforehand, about anything like this. If you have had any medical procedures before, such as dental work, they will need to be alerted.

What You Should Know On The Day

When it comes to having the test done on the day, you will be able to conduct your day largely like any other. Take your daily medications if applicable, but avoid drinking large amounts of liquid in the build-up to your scan. This will include water, coffee, or even juices.

Of course, as you should avoid having metals within your body for a scan, that will also mean you need to avoid having metal on you. This is all in the interest of having a safe MRI scan completed with no faults or danger. Objects such as your watch or phone will need to be placed away, which your technician should do beforehand. Even your glasses will need to be removed. 

Awaiting Results

Once you have had a scan, you will then need to await the results. These results will be available on your medical records once ready, allowing your primary care practitioner to have a look and conduct a follow-up appointment with you. If you don’t have a primary doctor, the facility in which you had your scan may be able to provide you with one.