Lori Baute, a 59-year-old from Ocala, Florida, decided to get a full-body MRI scan after a friend was diagnosed with bladder cancer and due to her own family history of cancer. The scan revealed lesions on her pancreas, which caused her significant worry until a follow-up targeted MRI showed they were benign cysts.
Baute’s experience reflects a growing trend as companies pitch full-body scans and at-home screening kits directly to consumers, promising early detection of cancer and other diseases. However, no major medical association — including the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology — recommends these scans for people without a very high risk of certain cancers.
Medical tests, even those recommended by doctors, carry risks such as cost, time, physical harm from procedures like biopsies or radiation exposure from CT scans, and psychological stress from waiting for results or facing inconclusive outcomes. Experts note that testing can trigger a 'diagnostic cascade,' leading to more invasive follow-up procedures.
Dr. Rita Redberg, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco, advises against testing unless patients have specific symptoms, saying she sees patients weekly who are distressed by results from tests they did not need. She warns that the anxiety and financial burden may outweigh benefits for low-risk individuals.
Despite these concerns, Baute says the cost and anxiety were worth it to feel in control of her health, and she plans to continue monitoring her pancreas with annual scans.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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