Joost Hermsen, entrepreneur, had a preventive health examination done at Prescan, which changed the course of his life. He was suffering from fatigue and some aches and pains here and there, and was curious to know what could be causing it. He had heard of Prescan from friends who had undergone the examination and were enthusiastic about the insight they gained into their health. Joost decided on a Body Scan Plus, consisting of five focused MRI scans, blood and urine tests and a cardiological examination. The examination showed that everything was fine, except for a spot on his bladder that looked suspect. Joost was referred to a specialist and successful treatment was started. Joost is now more aware of his health and is making changes to ensure he lives a long and healthy life. He has stopped smoking, started working less and is enjoying life and his family more. He describes the screening as a wake-up call. Things he enjoys he no longer puts off and he enjoys every moment.
Preventative health check
In 2003, Prescan started offering preventive health examinations using MRI and dermatological, cardiological and blood tests. Since then, it have given more than 150,000 people insight into their health. In recent years, preventive screening has taken off. More and more people want to take matters into their own hands and be sovereign over their own bodies. The examinations offered at Prescan are also a form of preventive screening.
Transforming habits for a healthier you
An important task for Prescan’s specialists is to provide advice for a healthier lifestyle, also known as Lifestyle intervention. The advice is aimed at transforming your diet, exercise and behaviour to improve your health. You would think we would all like to be healthy. Yet in practice, it often turns out to be very difficult to follow advice and to stick to it – simply because the effect is not immediately visible. So that one cigarette, that one beer, that bowl of chips makes little difference, right?
Uncovering the hidden health risks
It is very easy to say: stop those unhealthy lifestyle habits. It is only when you actually see with your own eyes what is happening inside your body that many people make the switch. And that is where Prescan’s MRI scans are essential. For instance, many people have a lot of fat around the organs in their abdomen, known as visceral fat or organ fat. Having a lot of organ fat increases the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Also, the organs themselves start working less well. We often see visceral fat in overweight people, but even people with a normal weight can have a lot of it. Adjusting your lifestyle (more exercise, healthy food, enough sleep) is important. There may be not much happening on the outside, but the inside of our body is definitely in need of change.