Experiencing a Prenuvo full-body MRI

Like how our faces change enough in 5 years to warrant a new driver's license photo, so do our insides.

Part practical, part curious

When I did my annual checkup early this year, my doctor said that my mammograms from last summer revealed dense breasts.  Dense breasts make mammograms hard to read.  It’s common for women, with density peaking during childbearing age and decreasing as we age.  They said that with my current risk factors (age, genetics), I now have a roughly 20% chance of developing breast cancer.  I’m eligible to have annual MRIs in addition to mammograms.

While getting my MRI scheduled at Sutter Health in the Bay Area, because of my HSA health plan, I will need to pay $4500 out-of-pocket.  Whoa, that sounds wrong.  What are my other options? I could wait until next year after I change my health plan.  But what if I have stage 1 cancer now and it becomes stage 2 by next year? According to WebMD, breast cancer doubles every 6 months on average, but the rate can vary for many reasons. Once cancer progresses from stage 1 to stage 2, it may have spread to the lymph nodes, which causes a decrease in my 5-year survival rate from 100% to 93%.

While googling alternative breast MRI facilities, I noticed two top hits I couldn't ignore: Ezra and Prenuvo.  For half the cost, I can scan my full f*king body for the presence of stage 1 cancer, plus a host of other diseases.  I thought wouldn't it be a great idea to use my HSA money this year to try a more comprehensive scan?  I mean, what if I've been so focused on breast cancer that something is lurking in my other organs?

I've always wondered what my insides looked like. Can I recognize myself from my insides? Do we have a signature like our fingerprints? With the excitement brewing, I knew I wanted to get a scan with one of these companies. I started booking with Prenuvo because they have a location near me, and they have good endorsements and backing from famous people like Cindy Crawford.

The quick start belies the long hour

It had been a Saturday when I started looking; the earliest availability was Monday morning, followed by another opening about 3 months away.  I felt a strong sense of urgency about this, so I booked it for Monday.  They allowed me to select their doctor as a referral, who will work on my case right away. I was impressed by how fast things moved along and was quite glad they were open on the weekends. Come Monday morning, I was all gowned up in the dressing room.

The scan was a challenge for me.  I was strapped onto a stiff platform and had to remain still for 60 minutes.  I either have undiagnosed merinthophobia or maybe I developed it then and there. They did recommend taking anti-anxiety medication before the scan, but I didn't have time to get a prescription for it, nor did I think I needed it. I made sure not to have coffee ahead of it, which helped. Luckily they punctuated the procedure with interruptions like the technician asking me to confirm the next portion and guided breathing in some sections.  Also, they played a video for me to watch and listen to while the scan was happening.

Still, that hour went by extremely slowly.  I mildly panicked about 5 minutes into the scan (as I became hyper-aware of being trapped for the next 55 minutes), but was later able to calm myself down by focusing on my breathing and thinking thoughts outside myself.  My lower back started to ache about halfway through, which made the experience even more uncomfortable. Also, the machine made disturbing clunking noises all along, as they moved the magnets up and down and around, making it sound like I was in space.

After the procedure, I grabbed a bunch of complimentary snacks, coffee, and water from the lobby to soothe myself. The lady at the front desk gave me a few discount coupons to give away and asked if I would like to reserve a time 2 years from now for another scan. I declined as I needed more time, then I headed to work.

Unexpected and surprising findings

I got my results back a week later through the IOS App. They took the paper report (also included) and broke the results out into an app for easier navigation.

I held my breath for major issues, but luckily nothing pressing came about, though there were some interesting findings. I perused the results and booked my complimentary consultation with a nurse the following week to clarify some findings.

• They didn't see anything abnormal in my breasts.  I was a tad bit disappointed that there isn't much detail from the scans, but they did warn me that only stage 1 cancers and above can be detected, not stage 0.  It'll be wise of me to continue doing yearly mammograms and dedicated breast MRIs next year.
• I have two uterine fibroids, which can sometimes press against the bladder and spine, causing pain and discomfort.  Sadly 80% of women have this so it's pretty normal, albeit debilitating.  Despite the statistics, I have a friend with a grapefruit-sized uterine fibroid who suffered from back pain and constant bladder pressure for months before the doctors properly diagnosed her.
• I have mild degenerative spondyloarthropathic changes to my lumbar spine (L3/L4), and also my cervical spine (C5/C6).  These are common for people starting in their 30s and are irreversible, possibly from sitting too much or sleeping poorly. I am really into bouldering and want to continue, so I'll research how to keep my spine as healthy as possible.

• I have 4 lumbar vertebrae as opposed to the normal 5.  There’s nothing in research about the difference in function between numbers of lumbar, which could vary from 4 through 6, but I believe it reduces my lumbar flexibility. I can't do the Navasana yoga pose no matter how much I practice and build ab muscles, so it has to be my bones, man. (My abs are abnormally strong from climbing.)
• Finally, I have a mucous retention cyst right behind my left cheek.  This was a surprise finding as I didn't have any symptoms at all. This may cause me to have sinus pain or pressure during a particularly bad run of allergies or infections, but otherwise, it could go away on its own. Or, it could grow.

Other than their recommendation to scan again in 2 years, they cleared me of further actions except to monitor the noted issues, which could be problematic.  I have been worried about my brain (I had SSHL one year) and kidney (mm-hm.. alcohol) health for a few years, and I’m cleared of anything related to those organs.  Instead, I now have new organs to worry about 😫.

At least Prenuvo provided some cool 3D rotating videos and pictures of the scans I could geek out on, partly because I wanted to scan. Here are some videos that they shared on the Prenuvo IOS app:

More awareness is needed

While looking at the videos, I can't help but appreciate the strange beauty of my innards. With all the fat removed, I looked muscular, alien, and "autonomous", for lack of a better word. This body is fully functioning without a cord, and no servicing is required in general. It has everything it needs to work and repair itself for 80+ years from the get-go. It only asks us to regularly use all the features and to provide proper fuel. A laptop or car can't do that (yet).

As I was grabbing screenshots for this post, I realized that there is no etiquette, as far as I can tell, regarding sharing pictures of our innards with the public.  With nude bodies, it's pretty clear what's acceptable and what's not. Perhaps as more people do this and more discussions occur, we’ll establish some norms around sharing such things. Until then, I've blurred out parts that I feel others may not be comfortable seeing.

I'm glad I did this scan once to satisfy my curiosity. However, it doesn't replace a targeted MRI for a specific diagnosis like the development of stage 0 breast cancer because of the lack of detail.  Also, for $2499, it's simply too expensive for me to repeat every 2 years as they suggest.  If I spread the cost over 2 years, it's still about $104/month. Perhaps I should consider their 2 lower-tier options in the future instead of the full-body one I did.

I think this is something that everyone should consider doing at a certain age (ie. 40 or so), then maybe once every 5 years, similar to driver's license renewals.  Like how our faces change enough in 5 years to warrant a new photo, so do our insides. 40 is when things start degenerating in the body, and a scan like this could be a wake-up call for people to start looking after their bodies for the next 40+ years of life.

Spread over 5 years, the full scan becomes a more affordable $42/month, which we can potentially trade something else out for (ie. one less fancy meal, one less fill of gas).