HEALTHY LIVING

Body scans: a new health craze for Baby Boomers?

Aging Petalumans are far more proactive than earlier generations when it comes to their health concerns

Anne Neumann Kevin Kledjian, certified medical sonographer for Ultra Life, conducts a thyroid scan on writer Bob Canning, who acted as a guinea pig. It is one of 11 tests that make up the full body scan designed to detect possible cancers, and heart, liver and other health problems. Zoom Photo

FOR MORE INFORMATION Medical experts continue to debate the effectiveness of mobile body imaging. Do your own research. Talk with your doctor. He or she may say, “Forget it.” But if peace of mind is important to you, and you can afford it, then do it. Life Line Screening’s Web site offers an informative video clip hosted by Dr. Dean Edell. Go to: www.lifelinescreening.com, or call 1-800-718-7681 Ultra-Life: www.ultralifebodyscan.com, 1-800-990-5721.

They frequent Sonoma County, setting up shop in churches, hotels, and health clubs, to scan your innards for potentially deadly abnormalities that can cause cancer, strokes or heart attacks. They are the mobile body imaging companies that have proliferated over the past several years.

A growing number of Baby Boomers and seniors are taking a more proactive (some might say, a more pre-emptive) strike, against possible hidden diseases. This is the demographic with discretionary funds that believes “Doctors don’t find a lot of things until it’s too late,” and don’t mind paying for scans and screenings not covered by most health insurance.

Ultra-Life, a Huntington Beach-based body scan company, does 11 different ultrasound tests on the heart, carotid arteries, arm and leg, deep leg vein, aorta, pancreas, gallbladder, liver/spleen, kidney, thyroid and pelvis (prostate for men, ovarian/uterus for women). You can choose the scan or group of scans from their fliers that are periodically inserted into the Press Democrat. Prices range from $45 to $150 per scan or you can have the whole shebang for $500.

Warren Green, Ultra-Life’s vigorous 72-year old president, founded the company 22 years ago, when he was unpleasantly surprised by a 60 percent blockage in his arteries during a routine physical exam.

“We have mammograms, blood tests and such to check for possible problems,” he said, “but I thought we could do much more in the field of preventive medicine, especially if we can catch something in its early stages.”

Bob Goodwin, who is in his 70s and has never taken a body scan, thinks it’s possible one could have saved the life of his gardener’s brother.

“He complained of terrible indigestion,” says Goodwin, “and went to Mexico to see his family doctor who diagnosed it as an ulcer. When his treatment wasn’t working, I recommended a doctor here in Petaluma. That’s when he was told he had Stage 4 stomach cancer. Seven months later he was dead at the age of 32.”

A number of Petalumans reported receiving a direct-mail solicitation from Life Line Screening of Cleveland, Ohio, announcing its visit to a Cotati church last week. (Life Line’s last visit to Petaluma was in September 2004 at Rooster Run Golf Club.)

Company spokesperson Joelle Reizes says, “We are not a body scan business. We check four specific areas only: vascular screenings of the carotid arteries in the neck, the abdomen for possible aortic aneurysms, the lower extremities for peripheral arterial disease, and one for osteoporosis.” The charge is a flat $139.

Green says scanning technology was developed by the military, and the equipment has gotten more sophisticated over the years.

“In the beginning, we used to roll in 600-pound machines,” he said. “A few years later, they weighed 450 pounds. Now we use the GE LogiqBook XP in most cases and it’s about the size of a desktop computer.”

Harold Matzen, a 65-year-old exterminator, doesn’t recall the name of the company that did his scans, but he’s had them every five years for the past 20 years. “I went to one at the Petaluma Quality Inn and another at Springfield Place Assisted Living,” he said. “If they can reveal something, I should know about it. If not, OK. It’s about peace of mind, and it’s worth it to me.”

Matzen’s lady friend, who preferred to be identified only as Ann, says she has accompanied Matzen each time for her own scans.

Eager to see how the procedure worked, I made an appointment for the full-body Ultra-Life scan in August, at the Courtyard by Marriott in Santa Rosa.

The technician was Kevin Kledjian, a certified medical sonographer in abdominal vascular echocardiography from the California School of Medical Sciences, Los Angeles, who has been with Ultra-Life for two years. He was courteous, professional and knowledgeable, and he immediately put me at ease by giving a running commentary over the full slate of 11 scans, and answering every question to my satisfaction. For instance:

Kledjian: “You have a 14 percent buildup of plaque in your carotid arteries.”

Me: “Is that bad?”

Kledjian: “Not at all. I once had a guy with a 70 percent blockage, and I wondered why his doctor never mentioned it to him.”

The procedure was non-invasive, lasted only 45 minutes, and as promised, my detailed analysis, which was supervised by an on-staff doctor, arrived in the mail within 21 days. The results were excellent for a 62-year old male.

Says Life Line’s Reizes, “If during the screening a technician sees something seriously wrong, he or she will discreetly mention to the participant that they should see a doctor within 48 hours. We give the participant a packet of information and a copy of the ultrasound images. This gives the doctor the information he or she needs to determine what should happen next, which could prevent a catastrophic event like a stroke.”

Matzen religiously turns over his images and their analyses to his physician, Edward Loker, who says, “I had a body scan myself. I recommend them but I let people know that insurance may not cover them.”

Sidney Dent, registered technologist for Petaluma Open MRI, says, “An MRI gives the clearest picture and is what I call patient-friendly. The doctor and patient can look it over and discuss the results together. With body scans, it takes a specialist to read the images. I couldn’t make them out even if I squinted.”

(Contact Bob Canning at argus@arguscourier.com)