Julia Clark is no stranger to the full-body MRI scan. As a customer success associate at Ezra, she spends her days helping people book scans and answering any questions they may have about the process.
This kind of work has always struck her as a particularly meaningful form of employment, especially when she sees someone receive life-changing information months (or even years) earlier than they would have otherwise. But her work took on a whole new level of meaning when the person she was shepherding through the process wasn’t a stranger. It was her very own father, Steven Clark.
“I'd been working on Ezra for a year and a half,” Julia says, “and I’d already gotten my own scan done and had a wonderful experience. So I really wanted him to get it, too, especially considering a few health concerns I had for him.”
Motivation
Steven had never thought about getting a full-body scan before Julia encouraged him to.
“Up until a year ago, I’d never even had a colonoscopy,” Steven said, noting that he had always kept himself in relatively good health to avoid seemingly unnecessary doctor’s visits. He goes for a long bike ride every single day, for example, and keeps a close eye on his caffeine and alcohol intake. “But I do have a couple of ongoing issues that I wanted to check on.”
Specifically, he wanted to look into his prostate and artery health. Doctors had previously flagged a slightly enlarged prostate and a higher-than-average coronary artery calcium (CAC) score. As a man approaching his mid-sixties, Steven knew he was at higher risk of developing serious issues, like prostate cancer or artery blockage.
Now, Steven was about to receive a comprehensive update on his health. “I was definitely a little bit nervous,” he admitted, “but also really eager to get that information.”
The experience
Steven works on the West Side of Manhattan, so it was a quick trip to his appointment at the Ezra Partner Facility on the Upper East Side. “It was very easy to get to, and the staff were all extremely helpful,” Steven said.
Julia was also able to meet her father at his appointment, which was an added bonus for both of them. “I was working in the city that day, so I actually met him at the facility,” she says. “While I was waiting for him to get his scan done, I got to talk for a while with the staff, and they were so incredible, so nice.”
While Julia was getting to know the staff, Steven was moving through a quick full-body scan. There was only one unexpected challenge that arose during the process, he noted with a laugh: “It was so dark and relaxing in the MRI machine that I kept falling asleep!”
The technician took a few extra pictures to compensate for Steven’s quick cat nap, and before he knew it, he was done.
The results
After the scan, Steven met with Po Lang, an Ezra clinician in Manhattan, for a 30-minute consultation to discuss the results.
“Overall the findings were very positive,” Steven said. “The scan did show the enlarged prostate and the high CAC score, but it clarified that they weren't any more of a problem than I thought, which was extremely comforting.”
During the appointment, Po and Steven went through all of the findings together, examining the results of each MRI picture closely until Steven really understood what all of it meant.
“It was very thorough,” Steven said. “The whole consultation was more comprehensive than anything else I have done, health-wise.”
Julia also expressed her relief that her father had finally gotten the scan. “I book tons of scans for people all the time,” she says, “but doing that for my dad was a very cool process. I'm really glad he was able to do that.”
Final thoughts
Now, Steven says that he’s using the Ezra scan results as a strong foundation for a healthy monitoring system moving forward.
“I have an appointment with my personal doctor this fall,” he said, “and I’m going to bring my Ezra scans as well as the medical recommendations Po gave me. So I’ll talk to my doctor about all of that, and we’re going to make a plan for how I can stay healthy.”
When asked how he felt about the experience of taking a full-body scan, Steven acknowledged that he had originally felt some trepidation about getting one, “since you never really know what you’re going to find out.”
Now, having taken the scan, he’s experiencing the rare pleasure of knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s in good health. “The whole experience was really positive,” he said. “It helped me feel better about what I’m doing, and how I am, and how I can keep it that way.”
He added that there were countless things in his life that he wants to enjoy for years to come, including an upcoming addition to the family: his second grandchild.
“There’s so much to look forward to,” he said.
As for Julia, she now has her sights set on another family member getting a scan done soon: her mother. “There’s no major health reason for her, but our whole thing at Ezra is early detection,” Julia says. “So I personally think everyone should get it done. To have both of my parents getting one every year or so, that would be ideal.”
