For her 50th birthday, Jenni M. wanted to give herself something a little different: a deeper understanding of her health.
She ate well, ran marathons, carefully managed her Crohn's disease, and spent most of her time keeping up with her two young sons. There was no particular answer she was searching for; she simply wanted to know more about what was happening inside her body.
Related: Why “healthy” people can still get cancer
"I had been wanting to do the scan for a while," she says. "Once I found out Prenuvo was in Denver, I decided to do it for my 50th birthday. It just made sense."
There was, however, one thing she couldn't quite shake. The year before, Jenni says a mass had been seen during medical care, but during follow-up, there was a mixup about which side of her body needed to be evaluated and it wasn’t found again. Life moved on, but the uncertainty lingered.
"My gut started telling me to check," she says.
That feeling, combined with her interest in taking a more proactive approach to her health, ultimately drove her to book the scan.
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The follow up that led to more answers
She contacted her OB-GYN, who ordered additional evaluation. Her mammogram did not show a concerning finding, but a follow-up ultrasound identified a mass in her breast. Within weeks, Jenni was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
What followed was months of treatment, beginning with chemotherapy and continuing with surgery and radiation. She has since completed those phases of care and is preparing to begin immunotherapy.
Looking back, Jenni still thinks about the fact that she had no lump she could feel and no family history of breast cancer, and often comes back to the same realization.
"Without the scan, I would have never known about the mass in my lymph node," she says. "I couldn't see it or feel it."
Related: Why proactive screening for breast cancer is more important than ever
Healthy doesn't always mean low risk
Jenni had many of the habits we tend to associate with taking good care of ourselves. She exercised, paid attention to nutrition, and had spent years as a marathon runner. Yet none of that made breast cancer something she expected to face.
“I eat well, take all the things, was a marathon runner,” she says. “Breast cancer does not run in the family.”
Her experience is a reminder that personal health can be more complicated than the risk factors we recognize or the symptoms we can feel.
It also highlights the importance of follow-up. Mammography remains an essential, guideline-recommended screening tool for breast cancer, and Prenuvo’s Whole Body Scan is not intended to replace it. In Jenni’s case, findings from her scan prompted additional medical evaluation, and the subsequent ultrasound identified the breast mass that led to her diagnosis.
Related: What’s the difference between whole body MRI and traditional cancer screening?
Her story is a strong example of how Prenuvo's Whole Body Scan is designed to complement routine medical care and guideline-recommended screenings, not replace them.
Related: How a Prenuvo scan changed things for these 5 women
Turning a difficult year into something meaningful
Nine months ago, Jenni first reached out to Prenuvo on Instagram after receiving her results. Since then, Jenni has shared much of her experience publicly on her Instagram, @jennibeatscancer, both as a way of processing what she has been through and to encourage other people to take an active role in their health.
Her two sons, ages six and 11, are never far from her mind when she talks about why that matters.
“If I had not had the scan, I most likely would have found this too late,” she says.*
It’s impossible to know how Jenni’s cancer would have progressed had she not booked the scan or exactly when it otherwise would have been discovered. What she does know is that following her instinct to look more closely was key in shaping the rest of her journey.
Listening to yourself
There is no way to know exactly how any person's health story would have unfolded under different circumstances. What Jenni does know is that listening to her instincts prompted her to take a proactive step she had been considering for years.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month often brings familiar reminders about mammograms, family history, and knowing what changes to discuss with your doctor. But it's also about paying attention to your body, advocating for yourself when something doesn't feel right, and recognizing that proactive healthcare often begins long before symptoms may appear.
If you’ve been thinking about taking a closer look at your health, learn more about Prenuvo’s Whole Body Scan and the kind of information it can provide as part of a broad proactive healthcare strategy by scheduling a call with our Patient Services team.
*A Prenuvo scan is a screening service, not diagnostic. Diagnosis and treatment are determined by your healthcare provider. Early detection outcomes depend on individual circumstances and follow-up care.
