In August, Busy Philipps, 47, revealed in an interview with People that she had a malignant brain tumour removed back in March. The actor said a full-body MRI scan discovered a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare, slow-growing tumour.
She said she originally heard of Prenuvo, the company that administered the full-body MRI scan, on Instagram.
Philipps reportedly asked her primary care doctor about getting an MRI scan back in 2025, but he said there was no need to because she was healthy and her blood work was fine.
“I didn’t know why I wanted to get this scan except for the fact that I just did,” Philipps told People in August. She reportedly didn’t have any symptoms of a brain tumour, such as seizures, but she often told friends and family “my brain feels broken.”
Yet in March, she underwent a roughly five-hour procedure to remove the mass, which was 2.6 centimetres long.
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She’s not the first celebrity to tout the benefits of Prenuvo. Other celebrities, like Kim Kardashian, Kate Hudson and Mindy Kaling have all plugged Prenuvo on their Instagram accounts, and in 2023, Maria Menunos said the scan “saved her life” after it detected a pancreatic tumour that turned out to be stage 2 cancer.
Philipps says she intends to continue getting regular Prenuvo scans. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Since 2022, Prenuvo has worked with nearly 800 celebrities and influencers, offering them free scans in exchange for mentioning the company, Marketing Brew reported. This was part of a strategy to get the technology in front of the general public, not just health-focused “biohackers.”
Philipps also said she intends to get regular scans to ensure the tumour does not come back.
Do regular Canadians need whole-body MRI scans?
In Canada, the wait time for an MRI scan was 18 weeks in 2025, with patients in Ontario and Quebec having the shortest wait times (12 weeks) and residents of Prince Edward Island waiting the longest at 52 weeks, according to an annual report by the Fraser Institute.
These wait times have some Canadians looking to pay out of pocket for MRI scans at private clinics, rather than wait for an appointment in the public healthcare system. At Prenuvo’s one Canadian location in Vancouver, clients can usually book a scan at the within one to two weeks using an online booking system. Results are usually available to review with a board-certified radiologist via the Prenuvo app or website in just a few days.
A preventative scan might seem like a slam-dunk, but Canadian experts are divided. Below, we did into some of the pros and cons — and controversy — around preventative MRI scans like Prenuvo.
Some groups are opposed to preventative health screening
Some Canadian medical groups, such as the Québec College of Physicians, state there are no scientific studies that show preventative full-body MRIs reduce the risk of illness or death. In June, the College issued an advisory on whole-body MRI scans for those who do not have symptoms.
“In the vast majority of cases, these scans are unnecessary,” president of the Québec College of Physicians, Dr. Mauril Gaudreault, told CTV News.
“We remind doctors that prescribing them in the absence of specific medical indications [symptoms] runs counter to scientific evidence and is contrary to their ethical obligations,” Gaudreault said.
Maria Menunous said a Prenuvo scan “saved her life” after it detected a pancreatic tumour. (Photo by Jennifer Lourie/Getty Images)
The College said whole-body scans can detect harmless abnormalities, like benign cysts or age-related changes, which often leads to further testing.
Similarly, in 2025, the Canadian Association of Radiologists released a position statement saying the group “opposes the use of whole-body or full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a screening tool in asymptomatic individuals, outside of specific, evidence-based clinical indications.”
Yahoo Canada reached out for an interview, but a spokesperson declined to comment at this time.
Pricing is a limitation for many Canadians
In Canada, a whole body scan by Prenuvo is $2,999 CAD. A shorter “focused scan” is still $1,499 CAD. Of course, even for those who want a Prenuvo scan, the high cost is limiting. The procedure is not covered by provincial programs such as OHIP.
Does a whole-body scan work for everyone?
In short, no, according to Dr. Vik Agarwal, a family physician and radiologist, and Prenuvo’s medical director for Canada. He said whole-body scans, like the ones offered by Prenuvo, are intended as a screening tool, but not a replacement for diagnostic imaging or standing screening tests, such as mammograms and colonoscopies.
Rather, Agarwal said a whole-body MRI scan is intended primarily for people who are looking at their health proactively; those who will take information from the scan and use it to improve their lifestyle, rather than those who already have a specific symptom or suspected injury.
Experts say full-body MRIs still have “limitations.” (Photo via Getty Images)
For example, in a preventative health context, if a scan shows a liver fat percentage at 15 percent – mildly fatty – it can be a soft marker of cardiovascular disease, and the patient could be prompted by this information to make lifestyle or health changes.
“Like everything, there are limitations to what it can do,” Agarwal said.
Agarwal also said people who are already diagnosed with cancer should not be screened, although some people do approach Prenuvo wanting a “second opinion” with an MRI scan.
“But the reality is that if you actually already have cancer, the whole body MRI is not what you need,” he said. “You should really use a conventional oncology apparatus.”
Agarwal said the company’s scans can be useful for looking at certain organs, including the brain, the liver, pancreas and kidneys, and the prostate. On the other hand, he says the scans are not as good at imaging the bowel and stomach, because those organs move around.
How often does a preventative full-body MRI detect something?
Agarwal says in his experience, between five and 10 percent of scans reveal something significant that is worth actioning.
“We’re good at picking up things in the breast, but maybe we’re a little bit too good at times,” Agarwal said, noting that sometimes breast scans can lead to incidental findings.
Incidental findings refers to the discovery of something in a scan that the patient wasn’t aware of or looking for. These findings can be harmless, but they can also lead to more imagining and further testing, a common criticism of preventative whole-body MRI scans.
Another thing to keep in mind, Agarwal said, is that a “clean” Prenuvo scan does not mean a patient has a clean bill of health.
“An imaging test is a snapshot in time,” he said, adding that a disease could still develop or become detectable after the scan.
For this reason, Agarwal said a whole-body MRI scan should be considered one piece of preventative healthcare, not the entire picture, and other preventative health measures, such as colonoscopies, mammograms and bloodwork should still be done.
What if the scan finds something concerning?
High-risk findings are looked at by a second independent radiologist before being released to the patient, according to Andrew Lacy, Prenuvo’s founder and CEO. “If something urgent is identified, a licensed provider contacts the patient directly rather than leaving them to discover it in an app.”
Afterwards, Lacy said providers explain findings, contextualizes risks, and suggests who to follow up with afterwards.
What are the potential cons of full-body MRI scans?
Cost: This can range from $1,500 to $3,600 in Canada, depending on the provider, and these fees are rarely covered by private insurance companies.
Accessibility: If you’re looking for Prenuvo specifically, there is only one location in Canada. Depending on your province, other similar private scans also face limitations. A 2023 study found that there are at least 85 privately operated facilities in Canada that accept private payment for advanced medical imaging exams, such as CT, MRI, and single-photon emission computed tomography scans, and the majority are located in Quebec, Alberta, B.C. and Ontario.
Health anxiety: If a scan reveals a serious condition — or even a shadow that is flagged for further screening — some patients may experience health-related anxiety that can be exacerbated by more testing or follow-ups.
Additional testing or follow-ups needed for diagnostics: “incidental findings” may lead patients to undergo unnecessary additional screenings or testing to follow-up on anything spotted on the scan.
False confidence: A “clean” scan may give the patient a false sense of security or confidence. In reality, a scan is just a snapshot of your health at that exact time — not a guarantee for future health.
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