I was scrolling on TikTok one day in December when I saw a video by Raya Carmona talking about her “delusional Christmas wish list.” At the very top was a Prenuvo scan. “I want a full-body scan once a year to subside my hypochondria symptoms,” she said. I immediately paused. I’ve joked for years that I wanted a full-body scan, always assuming it was a luxury reserved for millionaires. I hadn’t heard of Prenuvo specifically before, so I Googled it.
That search sent me down a rabbit hole of TikToks and articles explaining what Prenuvo is: a radiation-free, full-body MRI designed to find abnormalities before symptoms appear. It’s been trending online, and celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton have publicly shared that they’ve done it.
I should say, I’m always curious about a health or wellness trend: acupressure mats, vibration plates, red light therapy, tinctures. So this felt like the next, more extreme iteration of that curiosity. The cost is still not what I’d personally call accessible, but it’s nowhere near the astronomical number I’d assumed something like this would cost. Prenuvo has multiple scan tiers, with its most comprehensive options priced in the low four figures, and more limited scans available for less. Still expensive, but suddenly not totally unimaginable.
Health Anxiety
For context, a year ago last January, my grandma passed away from a tumor in her brain that was only caught the previous August. I’ve had a baseline level of health anxiety for a while, but after she died, I felt a noticeable shift. I started wondering more and more: what could be inside of me that I couldn’t see?
Even before that loss, I’d had my own share of health mysteries. Abrupt, debilitating stomach pains where I could barely stand or walk until they passed (sometimes monthly, sometimes once every handful of months with no pattern). Then there was the period when I decided to figure out why I have to pee so frequently (did I have an abnormally small bladder?), which turned into a string of appointments that led nowhere.
There was one year in particular when I decided to really try to get to the bottom of any and all health concerns. I saw a primary care doctor, an OB-GYN, a gastroenterologist, an ENT, an allergist, a neurologist, and more. I got blood work to no avail and X-rays of random parts of my body that came back normal. As I looked for explanations that never quite materialized, it felt like throwing darts in the dark to see if something stuck.
To add to my list of past health worries: my bones used to ache whenever it rained, which made me wonder if I had arthritis (I don’t). I also once had a health scare when I was mistakenly told I had endometriosis (I don’t). Most recently, I’ve caught myself compulsively checking my lymph nodes, just to see if I can feel anything. Am I making myself sound neurotic yet, or is this just a response to navigating a healthcare system that rarely gives the full picture? As I was writing this, I wondered if anyone close to me (someone who wouldn’t lie) would consider me a hypochondriac, and they all said no.
I obviously know TikTok isn’t a place for medical advice, but I can’t pretend I hadn't been susceptible to it. Every so often, I’d stumble across videos about everything from parasite cleanses to curing candida overgrowth, or personal stories of illnesses that went undetected—the symptoms people ignored, the signs they wished they’d noticed sooner, or, even scarier, cases where someone was completely asymptomatic. My immediate thought was always: could I have that too? That corner of TikTok has the same effect as WebMD. Suddenly, you’re cataloging a dozen things you could possibly have. For years, I’d wanted a full-body scan just to stop guessing.
The Scan
In exchange for sharing my experience, Prenuvo gifted me the Enhanced Screening with Whole Body Scan. On December 29, I took an Uber from Brooklyn to Prenuvo’s Midtown location because the idea of navigating crowds near Penn Station felt like too much that day. The office is right next to the AMC movie theater, so it’s hard to miss. In the weeks leading up to the appointment, I kept telling friends and family, “Did I tell you I’m getting a full-body MRI?” I was usually met with confusion, sometimes concern. “Wait, why?” they’d ask. I’d go into my explanation: how you usually can’t see what’s going on inside your entire body at once, how it’s preventative care, how I've wanted one for ages. I’d usually end with, “Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton have done it!” Only my mom and one particularly wellness-inclined friend really understood why I was so excited, joking that this was our dream.
Before the appointment, all patients are required to fast for four hours. You can also request a mild sedative if you’re worried about feeling claustrophobic in the machine. After changing, the technician led me into the MRI room. I was given over-ear noise protection and offered optional earplugs (which, in hindsight, I’d probably take next time). You can watch Netflix on a screen through the head coil while lying down, or listen to music. (If you need ideas, might I suggest The Talented Mr. Ripley, Zodiac, or episode one of the unhinged but incredible first season of the early-2000s Prison Break.)
To set the scene: the machine is loud, but I didn’t find it unbearably so. I’d describe it as an alternating mix of construction clanking and something that resembles a car alarm. Your head, torso, and legs are inside the MRI, with coils placed over your body to capture the images. The torso coil, in particular, feels like a very heavy weighted blanket. The scan lasts about an hour, and the technologist is there the entire time outside of the room, visible through a glass window. You’re given a squeeze ball to alert them if you need anything, and there are periodic check-ins, with a pre-recorded voice telling you when to breathe in and when to hold your breath. Knowing there were openings at both ends of the machine helped ease my anxiety about feeling trapped. Before I knew it, I was done and thought: that wasn’t so bad.
Separately, I went to Quest Diagnostics to have blood drawn, which was sent to Prenuvo's team ahead of my follow-up appointment to review the results.
The Results
About two weeks later, I met virtually with Dr. Shannon Ashley, a senior preventive medicine physician at Prenuvo. I scheduled the call early in the morning and woke up right before it started so I wouldn’t have time to spiral.
She began by walking me through a detailed report broken down by body system (nervous, respiratory, circulatory, integumentary, endocrine, digestive, reproductive, musculoskeletal, and urinary), along with images of the inside of my body. Findings were labeled as minor, moderate, or major, making it easy to understand what was concerning and what wasn’t. Blood work, body composition analysis, and advanced neuro reports were also included. Early in the call, she said, “There is nothing big, bad, or scary today that I have to tell you about,” which immediately put me at ease.
Although there were only minor findings, a Prenuvo scan doesn’t replace breast cancer screenings or colonoscopies, which require contrast or internal imaging. Instead, it gave me a clear plan to follow up with an OB-GYN and a gastroenterologist. Instead of guessing, I now know exactly what to prioritize. My ongoing mental list of “what could be wrong” changed dramatically. The scan didn’t give me every answer, but it gave me direction, and that alone felt like something.
The Bigger Picture
One thing that stood out to me throughout this experience was the idea of shifting healthcare from reactive to proactive. Right now, imaging often comes only after symptoms appear, which can turn into a long guessing game of referrals and appointments just to piece together what might be going on.
After getting my results, I was curious how Prenuvo thinks about where scans like this fit into a healthcare system that isn’t exactly known for accessibility. When I asked Alina Ioani, Prenuvo’s VP of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, she put it simply: “In today’s healthcare system, imaging is typically ordered in response to pain, concern, or suspected disease. Proactive whole-body MRI flips that model, helping people walk away with reassurance or clear next steps.”
Of course, cost remains part of the conversation. The ideal is for this kind of imaging to become standard and widely available, not aspirational. Ioani echoed that sentiment, noting that accessibility is central to Prenuvo’s long-term goal. Currently, scans are not covered by traditional insurance yet, but they are FSA and HSA eligible.
For me, the scan didn’t erase every health anxiety I’ve ever had, but it did get rid of a lot of them. Instead of an ever-expanding list of hypothetical concerns, I now have a more focused plan and a clearer understanding of my own body. And maybe the most telling part of all: I haven’t tried self-examining my lymph nodes since.