PET scanner in Shreveport, Louisiana accommodates patients up to 700 pounds.
A Texas country artist, dubbed by Rolling Stone Magazine “country’s most fascinating young songwriter” is highlighting a dangerous gap in medical care for patients like himself.
Dallas native Joshua Ray Walker was enroute to perform with his band on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last year when he received a call from his doctor and a diagnosis of stage 3B colon cancer.
“I had tests done to figure out what was going on. I found out that I had a mass in my colon and on the way to Kimmel, I found out that the mass was cancerous, and I would have to have surgery and likely chemotherapy,” Walker said. “I had finished chemotherapy and was going to meet with a thoracic surgeon who was going to do a lung biopsy. He wanted a mapping of my lungs before doing that surgery. That’s when we began searching for a scanner that could accommodate me. Not only was there nothing in network, there was just nothing in my city, and as we continued to search there was nothing in my metroplex or my region of Texas or the state of Texas.”
Walker began researching manufacturers of molecular imaging scanners that could accommodate his greater than average body weight when he learned of a scanner model that would support up to 700 pounds that was housed in Shreveport, Louisiana.
“This United Imaging scanner’s weight limit is 700 pounds, which is very large for a molecular imaging device. Most scanners only accommodate up to 350 pounds,” said Stephen Lokitz, PhD, BRF’s Center for Molecular Imaging and Therapy (CMIT) Executive Director. “This is a new frontier for us and molecular imaging as a whole because patients of a certain size were unable to be accommodated by the scanners that were more widely available. If a patient over that 350 pound weight limit needed PET imaging to detect cancer or treat diseases, it was difficult to impossible to find a scanner that would work. This is opening up PET imaging to a patient population that didn’t have access to it before.”
Walker said he had to “work backwards” to find medical care – starting with the manufacturer, then speaking with the manufacturers’ sales teams and finally with the vendors.
“That’s how I found CMIT,” Walker said.
“The team at CMIT spent hours on the phone making sure the insurance company was aware of why I needed the scan, and they also contacted my care team directly to make sure that they had a meeting with the insurance company and got it pushed through in time to have the scan and get it paid for.”
Walker said he has been on an “eye opening journey” in understanding how unaccommodating the medical field can be for patients of his size, even when the care is critically needed.
“I want people who need this service to know where to find it,” he said.
BRF’s CMIT is a world-class molecular imaging facility with clinical, research and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing operations housed near Shreveport, Louisiana’s downtown and on the InterTech Park campus with proximity to Ochsner LSU Health, an Ochsner- and LSU-led hospital and Level 1 Trauma Center, and LSU’s medical school.
CMIT’s clinical mission is to provide patients with access to state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, as well as increase the clinical and pre-clinical research capacities of partner research institutions. The ability to produce novel radiopharmaceuticals sets CMIT apart from other facilities that offer a similar suite of clinical, research and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing services.
In 2024, CMIT’s parent, non-profit organization BRF worked with U.S. Senator Dr. Bill Cassidy to acquire Louisiana’s and the region’s first uPanorama 35, a 160-slice scanner with AI capabilities and one of the most technologically advanced imaging devices in the country.
Walker said his latest scans have not detected cancer cells, and he has resumed a solo tour to promote his latest album, “Thank You for Listening.” Follow Walker’s journey at www.joshuaraywalker.com, on YouTube and Facebook.