Prenuvo founders Raj Attariwala and Andrew Lacy, trying to show you how friendly and cozy the inside of an MRI machine can be
What it is: Prenuvo, a clinic that offers whole body MRI scans. This was the company that Maria Menounos, whose story I highlighted a few days ago, turned to when regular testing failed to find an explanation for the pain she was feeling. Prenuvo detected Menounos’s early-stage pancreatic cancer, which allowed her to get the cancer removed before it spread.
The company's core promise: "Rather than wait for symptoms to present and disease to progress, Prenuvo provides early insight into what is going on under the skin. Armed with detailed health information, you'll be able to make proactive, informed decisions about your health."
Yes, but: Several expert radiologists warn against Prenuvo and similar on-demand testing. This could be interpreted as professionals protecting their turf, but their core argument is sound.
While MRI scans are not inherently dangerous, getting tested without a reason or obvious symptoms can lead to frequent false positives. And those can be harmful, both physically and psychologically, via additional testing, actual treatments of non-existent diseases or conditions, or plain old stress and worry.
The Long Youthspan take: You are of course free to make your own decisions about your health, and to get tested whether you have any reason to believe you are sick or not. But the Long Youthspan editor will remind you of the details of Menounos' story:
Menounos felt extreme pain. She went to her doctor. Usual tests didn't find anything abnormal. Menounos was unconvinced she was okay. Only at this point did she go to Prenuvo.
Where and how much: Prenuvo is already up and running in several areas, including Silicon Valley, New York, Boca Raton, Dallas, Chicago, and Minneapolis. The company also announced plans to expand to other new sites this year, including Boston, Toronto, and Washington, DC.
As of this writing, Prenuvo charges $1,000 for a torso scan, $1,800 for a head-and-torso scan, and $2,500 for a whole-body scan, and it doesn't take insurance.
So what next? If you feel something is wrong, or if you’d simply like to get a whole body MRI for the fun of it, you can get the full details of Prenuvo's services here: