Dr. Omar Hamada said Americans should take a far more aggressive approach to early disease detection, arguing that many deadly illnesses could be caught years before they become life-threatening.
During an appearance Friday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Hamada outlined five preventive steps he believes can identify cancer, heart disease and neurological conditions long before symptoms appear. They are:
(1) the Galleri Test (a multi-cancer early detection blood test from GRAIL that identifies DNA fragments from tumors, screening for approximately 50 cancer types at a cost of about $900 out-of-pocket);
(2) a whole-body MRI scan (to uncover hidden tumors, aneurysms, abnormal body composition, and internal threats like lung tumors or brain aneurysms, typically costing around $2,500);
(3) routine colonoscopies (recommended every five years to identify and remove precancerous polyps before they turn malignant);
(4) Cleerly AI Cardiac Imaging (advanced AI-analyzed coronary CT scans to detect early plaque buildup and cardiovascular risks well before end-stage disease); and
(5) brain imaging (such as MRI scans to screen for early structural or metabolic changes associated with neurological conditions and cognitive decline). He stresses that these tools enable intervention through lifestyle or medical means long before conditions become symptomatic or fatal.
Hamada, who practices emergency medicine while focusing on preventive health, said his approach is built around identifying the diseases most likely to kill a patient in the near future.
“When I bring a client in, the first thing we do is rule out the things that are going to kill you in the next five years,” Hamada said.
He emphasized that while traditional medicine often waits until symptoms appear, modern diagnostics can detect disease processes much earlier.
The first step Hamada recommends is the Galleri Test developed by GRAIL. The blood test searches for fragments of DNA shed by tumors, allowing doctors to screen for dozens of cancers at once.
“It’s a blood test,” Hamada explained. “We can find circulating cancer cells in your blood before we can see tumors on radiology.”
According to Hamada, the test can screen for roughly 50 types of cancer and costs about $900 out of pocket.
“You’re either completely cancer free, or we’re picking up markers that are suspicious for cancer,” he said. “It’s not necessarily diagnostic, but it leads you to further testing.”
Another key diagnostic tool is a whole-body MRI scan, which Hamada says can detect tumors, aneurysms and other hidden health threats. The scan takes about an hour and can reveal abnormalities throughout the body, including lung tumors or brain aneurysms.
“Whole-body MRI is one of the ways that we can pre-diagnose or early diagnose disease,” he said. “It’s going to tell you if you have tumors in your lung, any aneurysms in your brain… all sorts of things like that.”
He noted that scans typically cost around $2,500 but provide detailed information about body composition and dangerous internal fat.
Hamada also strongly recommends routine Colonoscopy examinations, typically every five years. Colonoscopies allow doctors to remove polyps before they become malignant.
“You need a colonoscopy,” he said. “If there’s no polyp, there’s no cancer.”
“The way we diagnose polyps is colonoscopy,” Hamada added. “Before that, we want to diagnose well before they’re causing problems.”
For heart disease detection, Hamada recommends advanced imaging such as Cleerly AI Cardiac Imaging, which analyzes coronary CT scans using artificial intelligence. The technology can detect early plaque formation and cardiovascular risk.
“If you’re waiting for plaques in your vessels, you’re at end stage,” Hamada said. “We want to pre-diagnose you.”
Early detection, he said, allows doctors to intervene with lifestyle changes or medication before a heart attack occurs.
Finally, Hamada recommends imaging of the brain to screen for neurological disease. Such scans can detect early structural or metabolic changes linked to cognitive decline.
Hamada argued that many serious illnesses – especially late-stage cancers – should rarely appear without warning in modern healthcare.
“There’s absolutely no reason to be diagnosed with stage four cancer in our healthcare system in America today,” he said.
He believes individuals must often pay for advanced screenings themselves because insurance programs focus on population-level guidelines rather than aggressive early detection.
“We’ve got to switch this mentality of insurance is going to cover it, because they’re not,” Hamada said. “My biggest investment is in my health.”
Watch:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Dr. Omar Hamada” by Dr. Omar Hamada.
