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Jimmymac
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I thought I'd give this posting a new topic title for future ease of search by those interested in the subject.
Here's what I posted earlier under a different thread "Full Medical", I was responding to a query regarding health care in BKK. I was voluntering info on my continued quest for determing my "state", how I stand at this point in time in terms of my health. I am trying to take a proactive approach to my healthcare, and am frustrated by the resistance I run into from my provider in the states. I believe the opposition is partly cost controls (disclaimer:I am not a Michael Moore fan)
and partly an "old school"mentality that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I would rather be at the cutting edge of health/wellness, so I shop the services here in Thailand.
Here's the earlier post;
..."Well it (PET scan) actually came to 61,750 bht. including the initial bloodwork and consultation. Yes, it was full body. My report is in 3 days, I'll check in with how complete it is. My key event in evaluation is to see if they give me a complete copy of the scan, as my consulting Doc said they would. I was told the same thing for my brain work and I just got a (fairly complete) set of images as an email attachment.
Service was good, a little slow, total time about 3 1/2 hrs for a 30 minute scan. It takes 1 hr for the radioisotopes to disburse in the system. And, I have to avoid children and pregnant women for 24 hrs, I'm "hotter" than usual."
Today I went in for my report with my personal doc at Samitivej Wellness Center.
First, a clarification. I received a PET/CT scan, which has higher detail and contrast due to the combination. The scan provides "precisely co-registered functional and structural images". The PET provides the "functional" by labeling foci of metabolically active cells or tissue. The CT provides "structural" images, detailed pictorial representations of organ structures. Average sensitivity and specificity is estimated at 84 and 99%, respectively, and accuracy ranges from 87-90%"
"The process is specificly reccomended for early detection of cancers of various organs, assesment of heart muscle viability in heart diseases and myocardial perfusions, and brain tumour and dementia assesments." So, thats what PET/CT does. It exposes the body to about the same amount of radiation as two chest x-rays. The scanner is made by Philips, is almost brand new, and the staff were very professional.
Today he provided me with a very good report, including a disc of the scans, and some color prints in the folder for immediate reference. I can now take this disc to my doc in the States and have it as part of my permanant record. My doc here took the time to congratulate me on my commitment to my health. He thinks it is a very good idea to take advantage of the technology available today. I didn't get the impression at all that he was parroting the business office line on this, in fact, due to the "sister relationship" between BH and Samitivej I would guess that his practice profited very little on the procedure. I would presume that he might have recieved a referral, but my point is that he seemed sincerely happy that I had taken this step.
So, clean bill of health at 52. No need for any (current) deep seated unsettlements about possible betrayal (cancer) of my body by my body.
I'll check again in 5 years.
Current checklist, last 12 months.
Full Bloodwork including Testosterone/IGF/GH factors
MRI Brain (for atrophy, etc)
Colonoscopy
PET/CT
To do: Active brain imaging
vo2 max meaurement
GH cycle to determine efficacy (now that I have
greenlight re: cancerous grwth from PET scan)
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:55 pm on Sep. 3, 2007
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DaffyDuck
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Congrats! Good move on being proactive about your health.
Had the same issues with my provider in the States, so I just do my scans and tests in Bangkok, and return with the results to be added to my file.
Works like a charm.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 3:34 am on Sep. 4, 2007
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Shredded Wheat
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Jimmymac - you have had some serious tests carried out and 62K THB is serious money.
Did you have a cancer scare in the past to make you think you needed a PET scan?
You might want to investigate what checks you could undertake for hypochondria and add those to your list of medical "to do's". Well done on your otherwise clean bill of health. 
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:02 pm on Sep. 10, 2007
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Jimmymac
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Shredded,
If my diet was composed of your namesake I guess I could have skipped the Colonoscopy, at least!
Hey, I'm 52, I've had a knee replacement, my father died @ 43 of a heart attack, I've been a farmer (spraying pesticides at certain points), and I've had issues with depression and memory loss these past few years. I don't think I'm "chicken little" in regards to my health, I think I'm a fairly normal guy who has a slighly enlarged prostate and is wondering what else is going on in there. So, I'll trade a few of my bucks for some of their expertise/technology, and I'll have another couple of data points to factor in as I consider what to do with my time.
Probably the best money you spend in life is for your education.
I'm a little more knowledgable now about my health, in that context the money is (almost) irrelevant, and I have a baseline for comparison in the future.
BTW Cost for similar in US; $2,000 (Nevada, cheapest) to $6,000 (Hawaii, where I live). BKK advantage, I was treated promptly, and well.
Anybody who can afford it should probably do it, at least that's the consensus I heard from the various medicos I discussed with.
OTOH I could have had somewhere between 1 and 30 nights out in BKK. That would have been bad for my liver, good for my prostate, and who knows what memories could have resulted. Maybe next time.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 5:21 pm on Sep. 10, 2007
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