A 28-year old male came for an Ultimate Assessment at Preventicum.  He was concerned about his general wellbeing and had found it challenging to access care locally due to the coronavirus pandemic.  He was feeling very tired and had been experiencing longstanding night sweats.  His full blood count and inflammatory markers were normal, but during ultrasound examination of his carotid arteries he was noted to have an abnormal looking lymph node in his neck.  An urgent letter was shared with his local hospital where he was being investigated for a mouth ulcer.  The lymph node was biopsied, and he was later diagnosed with a medullary carcinoma (cancer) of the thyroid gland.  This led to surgery to remove the thyroid gland and 50 additional lymph nodes to clear the cancer and reduce the risk of spread.  He is currently recovering from this procedure and is grateful to have discovered this through his Preventicum assessment and to have had the chance of curative surgery.

‘A managing director in his early 30’s attended an Ultimate Assessment in general good health… an MRI scan of his abdomen revealed a large mass in his pancreas. He was referred to a pancreatic surgeon for further investigation where it was decided he should have the tumour surgically removed.’ 

A managing director in his early 30’s booked in for an Ultimate Assessment at Preventicum in general good health and with no symptoms. The assessment included an MRI scan of his abdomen which revealed a large mass in his pancreas. This mass looked benign on MRI scanning, but he was nevertheless urgently referred to see a pancreatic surgeon for further investigation.  The images were reviewed at a multidisciplinary team meeting attended by doctors from various specialities and it was decided that he should have an ultrasound-guided biopsy. The histology came back suggestive of a neuroendocrine tumour. There was no evidence of malignancy, but as neuroendocrine tumours do have a propensity to turn malignant particularly when larger, it was decided that he should have his tumour surgically removed.  He then underwent a removal of part of his pancreas and his spleen. Histology confirmed the tumour to be a solid, very rare type of pancreatic tumour even rarer in men. It predominantly occurs in young females in their 30s and accounts for about 1% of all tumours of the pancreas. It is a very uncommon tumour, but has an excellent survival. They have been known to spread, but a cure is normally achieved if the disease is confined to the pancreas at diagnosis.  This was a very interesting case because the tumour was benign at diagnosis, but did have the potential to become malignant if left undetected in this very young man with no symptoms.

‘A fit and healthy orthopaedic surgeon in his late 60’s visited for an Ultimate Assessment… A large abdominal aortic aneurysm was revealed. He was referred immediately to see a vascular surgeon who performed an urgent repair through the main artery of his leg. Normally, large aortic aneurysms remain undetected with sudden death being the first symptom.’ 

A fit and healthy orthopaedic surgeon in his late 60’s visited Preventicum for an Ultimate Assessment, He was known to have high blood pressure. The health assessment revealed a large abdominal aortic aneurysm which is a ballooning of the major artery running down the centre of the abdomen.  This was a very large aneurysm with a high risk of rupturing, measuring 7cm across and was also seen on the ultrasound scan. He was referred immediately to see a vascular surgeon who performed an urgent repair to the aneurysm through the main artery of his leg. Normally, large aortic aneurysms remain undetected with sudden death being the first symptom.  Five years on, this client is doing very well, having made a good recovery with follow-up monitoring revealing the aneurysm to be fully repaired.

‘A company chairman in his late 50’s came for his regular Preventicum Ultimate Assessment after a gap of five years. He had no symptoms or health issues but his PSA (prostate specific antigen) was slightly higher than expected… further testing including prostate biopsies revealed localised cancer of the prostate.’ 

A company chairman in his late 50’s running a very large company came for his regular Preventicum Ultimate Assessment after a gap of five years.  He had no symptoms or health issues, but it was noted that his PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test was slightly higher than expected particularly when compared to his previous readings at Preventicum.  The PSA was higher than the predicted trend and he was advised to follow this up. He duly went to see a urologist who carried out further tests including prostate biopsies which revealed localised cancer of the prostate.  Following a total prostatectomy (removal of his prostate) the cancer was confirmed as localised. He has made a full and complete recovery as the tumour was detected before it could spread.

‘A property director in his early 40s with generally good health, had an Ultimate Assessment. MRI brain scans showed a large brain aneurysm measuring approximately 11mm across. The pros and cons of intervention were thoroughly discussed and considered, including coiling the aneurysm versus open surgery.’ 

A property director in his early 40s booked an Ultimate Assessment, he had no symptoms and was in generally good health.  Amongst many other tests, the assessment included an MRI brain scan and specific images of his intracranial arteries. The results of these scans showed that he had a large brain aneurysm measuring approximately 11mm across, and we immediately referred him to a leading neurosurgeon who performed a catheter angiogram to examine the anatomy of the aneurysm in more detail.  Interestingly, in the year before visiting Preventicum, he had seen a neurologist who had carried out an MRI brain scan, but the aneurysm had not been seen. The pros and cons of intervention were thoroughly discussed and considered, including coiling the aneurysm versus open surgery to the aneurysm. The latter was decided on and the surgical repair was a great success.

‘During his assessment, he was found to have high blood pressure, his ECG was significantly abnormal and his blood results revealed he had high cholesterol… within 48 hours a cardiologist had performed a cardiac CT revealing a dangerous blockage in the main artery taking blood to his heart.’ 

A building developer in his late 50s booked a Preventicum health assessment and mentioned a four-week history of chest pain during exertion. During his assessment, he was found to have high blood pressure, his exercise electrocardiogram (ECG) was significantly abnormal and his blood tests revealed he had high cholesterol.  He was urgently referred by his Preventicum doctor to a consultant cardiologist, who saw him within 48 hours and performed a cardiac CT scan revealing a dangerous blockage in the main artery taking blood to his heart.

Following immediate admission into hospital, the client underwent an emergency primary angioplasty procedure to open the blockage and two stents were put into his main coronary artery.  He subsequently made an excellent recovery and was put on long term medications to control his blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Prior to his Preventicum assessment, this client had a very high risk of having a sudden, fatal heart attack.

‘A HR director in her her early 40s came for an Ultimate Assessment with a tingling sensation in her hand and face… MRI scans revealed that the lower part of the brain was pushing down on the spinal column which in turn had caused fluid build-up. We performed an MRI scan of her spine immediately.’ 

A HR director in her early 40s came to see us for an Ultimate Preventicum health assessment and during her initial consultation, complained of tingling sensation over the fingertips of her left hand, neck and part of her face.  Her detailed consultation also revealed that she had been seeing a chiropractor who had been manipulating her neck. Her MRI scans revealed an unexpected finding in the bottom part of her brain; some of the brain tissue had extended into the spinal canal.  In effect, the lower part of the brain was pushing down on the spinal column which in turn had caused fluid build-up. We performed an MRI scan of her spine immediately.

This fluid in the spine (syringohydromyelia) extended the distance of twelve vertebra. We referred her urgently to a neurologist who then liaised with a neurosurgeon and she was advised to avoid any further manipulation of her neck.  The best course of action was decided to be a spinal decompression procedure to take the pressure off her spinal column. This was very successful. The client returned several years later and was doing very well with no symptoms.