Many doctors agree that body scans of any kind are helpful to point out potential problems in your body. The Ultra Life Mobile Testing Company, based in Huntington Beach, will offer a range of body scans in Bakersfield this month, it claims can save your life.
"Similar tests in hospitals are always after the fact. This is prevention. This is something proactive," says Warren Green, Certified Technologist for Ultra Life.
He says Ultra Life has been scanning patients in Bakersfield for 15 years. Green says the scans are safe, painless, and you get results from a doctor in 21 days.
Ultra Life offers multiple scans, such as scans of the liver, kidneys, pelvis, and gallbladder. A heart and stroke scan costs $275 dollars and a full body scan costs $500.
"All of our equipment is top of the line,” Green says. “It's all General Electric equipment. It’s all FDA and AMA approved, and the reports all come from licensed M.D.'s who will give pictures, reports, and recommendations."
Dr. Ravi Patel of the Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center says if you have an established illness, a scan is useful, but using a scan as a screening tool is not that reliable.
"It’s a misconception. You could have a lot of other things going on in your blood,” Dr. Patel says. “Your PSA could be abnormal, your blood sugar could be abnormal, and that's not going to be picked up with a scan. It's not going to tell you what your cholesterol is, which is much more important than the scan itself."
Dr. T. Anthony Don Michael of the Advanced Heart and Medical Center says patients need to have board certified cardiologists review their scans, not M.D.’s
"A technician doesn't know what he's looking for. He just says ‘oh lie down' and he'll look at the carotids,” Dr. Michael says. “But, let's suppose there's something abnormal, he isn't trained because the doctor hasn't told him, I listened to the neck, and there was something funny."
Dr. Patel says any licensed physician in California can offer any kind of scan, but there are different reasons to do scans.
"You primary care doctor is the captain of the ship,” Dr. Patel says. “You need to go to your primary care doctor and then identify the tests that are useful for you versus you leaving the primary care out of the loop and going at random trying to get scans done."
Ultra Life will be in Bakersfield on October 11th offering scans at the Courtyard by Marriott. You can call 1-800-990-5721 for more information.
