MRI for MAP
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
for patients with
MUTYH-Associated Polyposis
Once we have our polyposis under control,
we patients who have MAP can begin to focus
on other medical problems
---some of which are related to our genetic defect.
Our general risk of other cancers
is about twice as high as the general population.
Because we have this known genetic defect,
we have a higher-than-average risk of several identified cancers:
upper GI tract
breast
bladder
skin.
MRI is good for discovering all of these additional cancers,
including the cancers for which we have an average risk.
Also, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
can also discover other medical problems
such as heart, blood vessels, lungs, bones, etc.
The seeds of our deaths might already be in our bodies.
And if we discover some of these problems
well in advance of when they can do harm,
we will be able to extend our lives
beyond our next expiration date.
HEAD:
Does anything in the skull look abnormal?
Is there swelling or shrinking?
Are the blood-vessels too narrow or too wide?
Any damage from stokes?
Any signs of inflammation?
Tumors, cysts, multiple sclerosis?
Even some early signs of Alzheimer's disease
or Parkinson's disease can be detected.
CHEST:
Do the heart and lungs look normal?
If female, are there any signs of early breast cancer?
Are lymph nodes (anywhere in the body) enlarged?
Are the vessels of the heart in good shape?
What about the heart-valves?
Does the liver have any suspicious spots?
What about the lungs?
Blood vessels thru-out the body should be checked:
Are they too narrow or too wide anywhere?
Is there plaque build-up in any blood-vessels?
ABDOMEN:
An MRI scan can check the kidneys for problems
such as kidney-stones.
Is the urinary tract OK?
The gall-bladder might also have stones.
Pancreas, spleen, other organs.
Prostate in men.
Ovaries in women.
This part of the MRI can also doublel-check
problems in our large intestines discovered by colonoscopy.
BONES AND JOINTS:
Are there any problems in the spine?
Are any joints poorly lined-up?
Does any deterioration of the joints show up?
Are there any tumors in the bones?
Do all the muscles look normal?
What about the cartilage between bones?
Arthritis?
Once the MRI has recorded all of the facts
about these parts of our bodies,
the scans can be studied as carefully as needed
by doctors well-trained in discovering even minor problems
before they create noticeable symptoms.
Early detection of these other problems
can help our doctors extend our lives.
Being 'saved' from colon cancer
might be just the first step in a life-time of good medical care.
Read a more personal statement
here:
MUTYH-ASSOCIATED POLYPOSIS:
A
PATIENT'S PERSPECTIVE
KEEPING
MY COLON:
25
YEARS AND COUNTING
A related writing—MUTYH-associated polyposis—
uses question-and-answer
format to address 13 questions
that laypersons might
ask about MUTYH-associated
polyposis:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-website-jamesleonardpark---freelibrary-3puxk/MYH.html
Created
June 4, 2019; Revised