In what circumstance is a cancer diagnosis a good thing?

May 5, 2022

We believe that what we’re pioneering at Prenuvo is something special. We strive to spread the word about preventative screening to help contribute to having a positive effect on people’s lives and their health trajectories.

Over the years, we have spoken with thousands of members about their journey from hearing about us to coming in for a scan. One surprising insight sticks out. For many, there was a large gap in the period between learning about Prenuvo and getting a screening - often months, sometimes even years!

When we dove deeper, we learned that while there were a variety of reasons for this, the single biggest reason was a general fear of what we might find. I can empathize with this as I have also felt this apprehension before a scan. One member even told me the other day that they went out for one last meal at a great restaurant the night before the scan because “surely my entire life will change when I learn I have cancer“!

The unfortunate reality is that it speaks much more about the state of our reactive healthcare system than it does about Prenuvo. Most cancers in the real world are caught at an advanced stage when the cancer has already spread beyond the initial organ. At Prenuvo, the overwhelming majority of cancers diagnosed following a Prenuvo scan are at Stage 1. In the context of having cancer, diagnosing cancer at an earlier stage allows for more effective and successful treatment.

To understand why Prenuvo is able to catch cancer so early, it is important to appreciate two facts about cancer.

First, cancer grows exponentially. That is, they start with one mutated cell, then two cells and then four cells and so on. A 2016 study found the most common breast cancer grows 0.208% per day which means a cancer takes 335 days to grow from 1cm to 2cm in size, but only 88 days to grow from 5cm to 6cm in size. While there is no guarantee that small cancers won’t metastasize early, it generally takes time for cancers to acquire the necessary mutations to do so. A John Hopkins study found that it took an average of nearly seven years for pancreatic cancer to grow to the size of a plum at which it can metastasize. This potentially leaves a window of 3-4 years during which that tumor will be visible on a Prenuvo scan and still be treatable as a Stage 1 cancer.

Second, most cancers are symptomless in their early stages. This means that even if we are great listeners to our bodies (and spoiler, we are not!), we will still not necessarily know to visit a doctor and get a test. In fact, this is a fundamental problem with our health system. It generally considers us healthy unless we feel sick.

It is the mission of Prenuvo to change this mentality about our health. The concept of proactive healthcare is not new. We have seen it successfully adopted within dental care. As children, we’re taught to brush our teeth and floss, not necessarily to treat cavities, but rather to prevent cavities from occurring. We go to the dentist regularly to check up on our teeth - why are we not encouraged to do the same for our bodies?

Join other health pioneers using Prenuvo preventative screening to get ahead of health problems and gain peace of mind. Give our friendly team a call at 1-833-773-6886 to book an appointment today.

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