Should you have a Scan?
The various Scans should only be considered from 40 – 50 years of age if there are co-existing risk factors – family history, tobacco history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, overweight, inactive lifestyle, mental stress etc.
Since Scan For Life® provides several different targeted Scan services depending on your personal requirements and medical risk factors, we assist you in choosing appropriate Scans in an informed manner.
Choosing and Scheduling your Scans:
At Scan for Life® we want your experience with us to be pleasant, comfortable and expeditious.
Initially you contact us to discuss the various Scan options with one of our consultants, to decide on a responsible and medically appropriate Scan choice. An individualised and informed Scan protocol is decided upon, customised according to your personal history, medical risk factors, family history and lifestyle; as well as scientifically based screening guidelines. This targeted approach allows the identification of appropriate health risks and potential problems early on.
Scan for Life® provides a complementary pre-scan consultation service, whereby you visit our facility to be met directly with one of our Doctors and be assessed.
A limited number of consultations are scheduled each day in order to give you dedicated and extended time and ensure a thorough assessment.
You may contact us on +27 (0)11 447 5669 or +27(0)82 388 0929 or info@scanforlife.co.za.
You then schedule your actual Scan Appointment and receive a complementary Scan Preparatory Kit.
Before your Scan:
You may take your medications (except for Glucophage, erectile dysfunction medications, in certain cases) on schedule before and / or after your Scan as prescribed.
For certain Scans you will have received a Scan Preparatory Kit from us, comprising a medical questionaire, informed consent, directions to our centre, and Scan procedure explanation.
If you are having a Heart For Life Scan, you may also receive a safe Beta Blocker tablet in the kit with directions, to be taken an hour before the Scan. You may not eat four hours before the Scan and must avoid caffeine and tobacco.
If you are having a Colon for Life Scan, you will undergo a twenty four hour liquid diet and safe laxative prep to cleanse your large bowel (colon and rectum). The directions and laxative prep are included in the kit.
A half hour to one hour before your Scan, you arrive at our private and comfortable Scan for Life® Centre in The Rosebank Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa, and meet with one of our trained consultants. She will run through the process with you, answer any questions you may have, and prepare you for your Scan.
You will complete a confidential Medical Questionaire if you have not yet done so (a Medical questionaire is included in the Scan prepararition kit).
Easy Access Service:
Scan For Life® will provide you with a full Meet And Greet Service for your convenience. On arrival at the Hospital, our Consultant will personally meet you outside at the stairway in front and escort you through the screening process and into our own private and isolated Reception. We will provide you with a surgical Face Mask if you have no mask. Our only requirement is that you simply text or call our Consultant, just prior to arriving. Our Consultant will have provided you with their contact number in advance. The entire process will be managed by Scan For Life®.
COVID-19 Safety and Security:
The following policies and precautions have been adopted by Scan For Life® to mitigate SARS-COV2 transmission. The hospital has strict access control measures in place and a formal screening process on entry for all staff and patients. Within the facility, there is strict infection control and disinfection / sanitiser stations.
Scan For Life® is physically isolated from all other hospital departments, with its own private entrance, reception and waiting room specifically for its patients. We are an appointment-only practice with our patients separately scheduled in their own private time-slots and physically isolated so there is no contact with other patients. There are no concurrent or over-lapping patients and this extends from entering until leaving.
The Scanners and rooms undergo hospital-grade disinfection prior to and after every patient. All Scan For Life® staff are equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Patient contact with our screened staff is strictly limited to a single Consultant, Nurse, Technologist and Specialist Doctor.
Strict social distancing is adhered to, and all patients are supplied with a mask on entering the facility. Despite these precautions and the strictly controlled environment, there remains potential for SARS-COV2 transmission. Should you suspect that you may have been exposed to SARS-COV2 prior to your appointment please notify our office by telephone immediately.
Your Scan Experience:
You will change from your regular clothes into a gown that has no metal buttons or zips.
If you are having a CT Scan, you will lie on a comfortable table that slides into a large wide-open circular ring – not a claustrophobic tunnel. The actual scan times are under 10 seconds each, but you may be on the table for half an hour while preparations are made before the scan, and the images checked after the scan.
If you are having a MRI Scan, you will lie on a comfortable table that slides into a short tunnel open at either end. The scan times are between three and five minutes each, with a total Scan time of fifteen to twenty minutes.
You may receive an injection of an IV Contrast during the Scan. This is known as x-ray “dye” and contains Iodine. It is administered via a standard IV line (“drip”). Scan for Life® uses the latest contrast agent which is extremely safe. This contrast allows us to visualize vascular structures (arteries and veins) or any growths within the body, for certain scans.
If you are having a Colon For Life Scan, harmless CO2 gas is introduced into the colon during the Scan via a thin and comfortable tube placed painlessly just into the rectum, to gently distend your bowel so it can be virtually “flown through” later.
After your Scan:
After a short observation period, you will leave, once you have scheduled your complementary Report Back Consultation with the Doctor.
No after care is required and you may drive yourself home or to work immediately afterwards.
Complementary snacks, small meals and drinks are provided after the Scans.
After you have left, the image data is processed by our Techs, and then evaluated on a Computer Workstation by one of our Medical Specialist Doctors.
A comprehensive Report Pack is then produced, comprising a hard-copy Medical Report with recommendations and a digital report of 3D images and videos. The Report Pack includes a CD-ROM with software which can be viewed on your own Personal Computer at home.
The Scan data is securely archived on the Scan For Life® server for record and future comparative purposes, for five years.
Your Report Back and results:
At the Report Back Consultation, the prepared Medical Report Pack is carefully explained to you by one of our Medical Specialist Doctors. The one on one consultations are performed interactively while the 3D imagery is viewed on a computer workstation. If applicable, the previous results are also available, making it a useful comparitive tool. A strategic health plan and recommendations are made, but treatment is not administered.
These medical findings are totally confidential, but can be sent to or shared with any health professional of your choice, only by your request.
You may then leave with your Medical Report Pack or this may be conveniently delivered to your requested adddress or health professional of your choice.
A comprehensive support network of expert health professionals are optionally available for direct referral should further management or treatment be required.