The Multi-detector Spiral CT body scanner (MDCT). You lay an a table as it moves through the scanner and reads all your vital organs and sends the pictures to a computer.

   I’ve always said if I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself. Considering my family history and my past lifestyle choices, it could be argued that it’s some sort of miracle that I actually have lived this long.
   Heart disease and cancer cause over half of all deaths in the United States (31 and 23 percent respectively). So about five years ago, I really got serious about my health. By the time I made this decision, my mother had died of a stroke complicated by pancreatic cancer a couple of years earlier, my father had just passed away from colon cancer, and my younger brother, who was overweight, a heavy smoker, and diabetic, had had two heart attacks — one at age 40. Two years ago, he died from his third heart attack, after suffering two strokes. The last one was fairly debilitating requiring a lot of rehabilitation before he could return to work — only to die of the heart attack three weeks later. I had lost my entire immediate family in less than six years. History is not on my side. In fact my brother once quipped, “Heart disease doesn’t run in our family. It takes the bus.”
   Ironically, I made this decision while in Florida attending to the details of settling my father’s estate. It came after getting the results of a blood test I’d taken a week earlier. My cholesterol was over 300 and triglycerides over 600. Combined with high blood pressure and the stress level involved in my job, I was either a heart attack or a stroke looking for an unsuspecting time and place to make my wife a widow.

Reviewing the results in 3-D with Dr. Henne on his computer

   With all that going against me, coupled with the fact I was beginning to stare the big 5-0 directly in the face, it was time to step up and take charge of my health if I had any expectation of collecting some of that Social Security I’ve paid into all these years.
   I visited my personal physician, Dr, Michael Butler, for a complete physical and a very frank discussion. I confessed that considering my family history, past lifestyle and diet choices — especially before I got married — heart disease was my most immediate concern. His response was basically a polite, “Well DUH!” Just not exactly in those words. To say I was paranoid about it would be a major understatement. Every time I felt any kind of twinge in my chest, I was sure, as Fred Sanford would say; it was “the big one.”
   Before getting up the courage to go have this discussion, I had already started walking three miles a day with my wife and dropped some poundage while building some stamina. I also changed my diet radically, eating more fruit and veggies, but less red meat and dairy products. I stopped drinking hard liquor except on rare occasions, switching to red wine — and a whole lot less of it — as well as giving up caffeinated coffee and soft drinks like Coke and Pepsi in favor of water.
   The first thing Dr. Butler did was prescribe some effective blood pressure medicine that didn’t have the undesirable side effects that made me stop taking it in the past. Middle-aged men know exactly what “undesirable” means in this context. He also put me on Lipitor for the cholesterol and signed me up for a treadmill test, which thanks to my walking, I passed with flying colors.
   I was relieved to know I was no longer in imminent danger of dropping dead and the changes had begun working. But I was still as paranoid about a heart attack or stroke as a stoner with a cop car in the rear view mirror. So I found a partner and started working out seriously three days a week, eventually getting off the Lipitor and reaching a point of being able to bench press 270 pounds.
   However, since my father died of colon cancer and I had now turned 50, Dr. Butler also strongly recommended I get a colonoscopy. He explained what it was and exactly what was involved.
   It sure didn’t sound like a day at the beach to me. But being serious about my health, I made an appointment to have it done. As the fateful day arrived, I had somehow misunderstood the eating directions for the previous days and had to cancel the appointment. I rescheduled, but wound up having to be out of town on the second day. Then the holidays came.
   Long story short, I procrastinated almost two years — and I’ll admit it now, the idea of them sticking a probe with a camera attached to it up my butt, poking around and exploring in there had more than a little to do with my reluctance. Meanwhile, Dr. Butler kept prodding me (no pun intended) to get this done — no matter how unpleasant it promised to be.
   While editing one of our previous special sections on health care, I came across an article by Dr. Johnny Green on colon scanning using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This sounded a whole lot more pleasant. Then some other articles came along in subsequent issues about other types of MRI scanning as well as more on colon scanning.
   It turns out that one of our clients, In-Health Imaging in Poulsbo (formerly known as Pacific Medical Imaging Consultants), had recently purchased a complete Multi-detector Spiral CT body scanner (MDCT) and was advertising their services in this paper.
   In-Health Imaging is owned by Dr, Manfred Henne. Prior to medical school, he earned a master’s degree in physics, and then went on to graduate with both an MD and PhD from the Technische Universität in Munich, Germany. He did his residency in radiology at the University of Mississippi Medical School and did radiology fellowships at the University of South Alabama and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
   Dr. Henne also currently serves as the medical director of three medical centers in Washington State. He is a member of numerous professional societies, including The Radiological Society of North America; the Washington Medical Association, the Washington State Radiological Society, Pacific Northwest Radiological Society, the National Osteoporosis Foundation, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry, and the American College of Radiology.
   In-Health Imaging specializes in preventative imaging examinations designed for early detection of heart disease, most common cancers, and osteoporosis. It also offers mammography. Each of the exams is actually quite simple, non-invasive, highly accurate, and they don’t take very long. When you consider the investment in the technology (well over $250,000), the pricing is actually quite reasonable and varies with insurance coverage.
   So I asked Dr. Butler if the CT scanning could take the place of the more invasive conventional procedure. He was very enthusiastic about it and strongly suggested I quit procrastinating and schedule the appointment — before another two years went by.
   I made the call. Marianne Ryan answered the phone and patiently explained the pre-scanning process and sent me a “kit” to be used beginning three days prior to my appointment.
   I figured that since I was going to be in the scanner, I might as well not stop at just the colonography, but have everything looked at and see what, if anything, I needed to be aware of. I had what’s called a full body-scan with a coronary artery calcium scoring and CT colonography. This scan looks at all your vital organs.
   Surviving the effects of the “kit,” which consists of a variety of laxative-type stuff designed to empty your colon of any and all material that might be there, was probably the worse part of the experience. By the time I arrived for my appointment I was a bit tender from the workout my butt had been getting the previous two days, but that process is the same for the conventional procedure as well. No harm, no foul, I guess.
   When I arrived at In-Health Imaging’s office on Bond Road right near Highway 305, I met Marianne, who had so patiently answered all my questions.
   I was escorted to the MDCT machine, which is actually housed in a climate controlled, self-contained semi-trailer located behind the main building, by Michael Wilcox, the technician who would actually do the scanning. In conversation with Michael, who actually had quite a sense of humor and put me at ease, I learned he had been involved in radiology for over 20 years and is one of the few people in this area trained to use the MDCT scanner.
   Inside the unit, there is a computer console that controls the scanner, as well as the scanner itself, which consists of a moving table and what looks like a gigantic O-ring. This is actually the powerful magnet that is the basis for MRI. The patient lies on the table and the computer moves it through the ring to the appropriate place to be scanned, at the proper speed for the machine to create the images.
   After changing into the semi-stylish medical gown, which like all medical gowns was open in the back, Michael positioned me face down on the table explaining he would insert a probe (guess where) that would pump my colon full of CO2 so it would remain expanded during the scan.
   Once that bit of unpleasantness was finished, he had me roll over and positioned me properly on the table. He turned on the CO2, which gave me a slightly full feeling in my stomach, but wasn’t painful at all. He had me take a deep breath and hold it as the table moved through the scanner. Since I was having the full body scan, it was necessary to repeat the procedure several times as the scanner examined the different parts of my body.
   The whole procedure, from start to finish took about 20 minutes, including all the time the amiable Michael spent answering my endless questions. It was absolutely painless!
   When the scans were complete, I went inside while the images were transferred to Dr. Henne’s computer. My wife joined me as we met with Dr. Henne to review what the scanner had found.
   He was able to show us on a computer screen, pictures of my heart, arteries, lungs, prostate, pancreas, liver, and of course, the original reason for my being there, the colon.
   Dr. Henne, a cancer survivor himself, with 20 years of experience in diagnostic radiology, is a very friendly, soft-spoken kind of guy. He explained that many life-threatening diseases develop silently with no symptoms. By the time symptoms occur, like in the case of my father’s colon cancer, patients are often in the more advanced and less treatable stages. Medical research and practical experience have proven that survival rates and quality of life increase with early detection.
   “I believe strongly in preventative medicine and actively encourage patients to take charge of their health,” stated Dr. Henne. “In recent years, my interest and focus has followed the trend in medicine from diagnosing patients to detecting disease before patients begin to experience symptoms. Advances in technology now allow us to detect disease earlier than ever before.”
   That belief is what has motivated him to be able to use his experience as a Board Certified Radiologist, to create a practice using this new technology to detect coronary artery disease, lung cancer, colon cancer, and other common cancers in their earliest, most treatable stages.
   He emphasizes, “Preventative medical imaging should not replace regular visits to the patient’s primary care physician. Instead it should be used as an additional tool to help patients stay in health.”
   Dr. Henne was able to show us numerous views of each organ, including three-dimensional color sectional views, pointing out different things as we reviewed each one individually. It also shows the difference between fat and muscle in different shades. Now I’m a bit of a techno-junkie, so in the end, it was simply amazing to me to realize I was seeing full-color, three dimensional photos of the inside of my own body, taken less than 30 minutes ago!
   Now the answer to the big question — what did the scan show? That all the hard work in the gym and the lifestyle and dietary changes had paid off. There was no sign of any kind of cancer, heart disease, or coronary blockages. So finally, my paranoia is gone. An added benefit is that it has encouraged me to work harder in the gym. Up until then, I didn’t realize that I often held back from pushing harder than normal out of fear.
   Bottom line: There’s no way to put a price on the peace of mind I now have about my health. It’s absolutely priceless.

(Editor’s Note: In-Health Imaging can be reached at 360-598-3141, 888-837-8826 info@inhealthimaging.com, or by visiting www.inhealthimaging.com.)