Imaging for Wellness – Screening Guidelines
Eating healthy and getting regular exercise are ways to improve your health. Visiting your doctor and getting regular screening exams is another way to stay healthy. Health screenings are important. They help to detect and diagnose serious medical conditions and enable early treatment. Peninsula Imaging offers several health screenings to assist in monitoring your health. These screenings are covered and recommended by most insurance companies.
Peninsula Imaging is accredited by The American College of Radiology which recommends:
- Women of average risk at 40 years of age should begin annual screening mammograms
- Women with higher risk factors should consult with their physician on when screening mammography should begin
- Women with higher risk factors may benefit from supplemental screening modalities such as breast ultrasound and breast MRI
The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends bone density testing if:
- You are a woman age 65 or older
- You are a man age 70 or older
- You break a bone after age 50
- You are a woman of menopausal age with risk factors
- You are a man age 50-69 with risk factors
A bone density test may also be necessary if you have any of the following:
- An x-ray of your spine showing a break or bone loss in your spine
- Back pain with a possible break in your spine
- Height loss of ½ inch or more within one year
- Total height loss of 1-1/2 inches from your original height
Peninsula Imaging adheres to low dose lung cancer screening guidelines as outlined by the American Cancer Society. Individuals should be screened for lung cancer if they meet the following criteria:
- Age 50-80 and in fairly good health
- Are a current smoker or have quit smoking within the past 15 years
- Have at least a 20-pack year smoking history
The American Cancer Society recommends that people of average risk for colon cancer begin screening at age 45. For screening, people are considered to be at average risk if they do not have:
- A personal history of colorectal cancer or certain types of polyps
- A family history of colorectal cancer
- A personal history of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease)
- A confirmed or suspected hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome, such as a familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or Lynch syndrome (hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer or HNPCC)
- A personal history of getting radiation to the abdomen (belly) or pelvic area to treat a prior cancer
People who are in good health and with a life expectancy of more than 10 years should continue regular colorectal cancer screening through the age of 75.
For people 76 through 85, the decision to be screened should be based on a person’s preferences, life expectancy, overall health, and prior screening history.
An alternative for traditional colonoscopy is virtual colonoscopy. Virtual colonoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure which uses CT scanning to obtain an interior view of the colon (large intestine).