Full Body Scan??

[jmurphy]

My dad just got a full body scan, [$1250 ]. He's been a firefighter for 20 years and contaminated more times than I can remember. His fire gear has even been taken away in 55 gallon drums. He's been getting sharp pains in his left lung every so often and thought he probably had lung cancer (from smoke, etc. from the fires). Anyway, the scan came back perfect, there was nothing detected in any organs. They check bone density too, also exceptional. Anyway, I was wondering how accurate these scans really are? He feels like he got ripped off (haha) because they didn't find anything.

Jamie

[KateHunter]

Gosh I hope by now you have received more info for your dad. (I've just found this site and signed on today) I have to ask if your dad gets regular check ups. Every one of our 'heros' should be doing that especially considering the risk factors of their job. A full body scan is not as specific as those done with an order from a doctor. If he wants information about his lungs then a scan should be ordered for a chest CT. That would provide "slices" that were very close together whereas the full body scan slices are further apart. Obviously things could be missed. The "lowly" chest x-ray is a very good source of information too. If you talk to the radiology folks you will probably find that most object to the full body scan idea....unnecessary radiation exposure....risk versus benefits.