If you’re a cancer survivor you’ve likely heard the term scanxiety
It’s the intense anxiety and distress experienced before, during, and after medical imaging scans (such as CT, MRI, PET scans) that are of course a really important part of monitoring cancer status.
Now for some of you, this can become really overwhelming and disrupt how you function day to day, your quality of life, relationships and overall well-being .
So let’s start by letting you know that this is totally normal and you are not alone in feeling this. We know that these scans are an indication of disease progression, recurrence, or treatment effectiveness. Obviously we are hoping for the latter but it is understandable that you are concerned and that you are going to be worrying about the worst-case scenario
Breaking down the real experience
Scanxiety is a multifaceted experience that can show up differently for different people, but commonly involves a range of emotional, mental, and physical symptoms.
These can be worse in the week before the appointment or even when you’re waiting to get your appointment time but you know, for example, that your annual check is due.
From when you get your date; You’ll likely spend the period between then and the actual scan date thinking of all the worst-case scenarios that can go wrong and how you’re going to cope with it. You’ve probably had conversations in your head to have with the people you love on results that you don’t even know yet.
This is normal and I want to break down what’s actually going on with you physically and mentally so that I can help you to understand it. I’ll then go through some strategies that you can use to help you to manage this as well.
Emotional and Mental Feelings:
Worry and Fear: It likely brings back all of the emotions that you had when you first got your diagnosis. It’s a feeling of unknown and because you’ve already felt those feelings before, your body is going back to there. Your brain is like, ‘Oh yeah we know this feeling’ and then it will be thinking of all the outcomes from the last time you had this feeling.
Irritability and Restlessness: Feeling on edge, easily agitated, or unable to relax. Snapping at people and having little tolerance or patience.
Difficulty Concentrating: Trouble focusing on daily tasks, conversations, or hobbies due to internal thoughts about your scan and its results.
Loss of Control: A feeling of helplessness as the outcome is entirely dependent on the scan results, which feel out of your control - again a familiar feeling since your diagnosis.
Physical Feelings:
Higher Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: Your body’s fight-or-flight response can lead to real physiological changes.
Sleep issues: Insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, or waking up frequently due to anxiety.
Gastrointestinal Issues: Stomach pain, nausea, or changes in appetite.
Fatigue: Unlikely to be a new feeling but this could be heightened due to how much time and energy is being taken by thinking about your scan.
Muscle Tension: Tightness in your shoulders, neck, or other muscle groups.
Headaches: Tension headaches or migraines can be a common manifestation of stress and anxiety.
Strategies I use with clients to help overcome Scanxiety
We want to focus on building more coping mechanisms, practical steps, psychological techniques, and supportive daily tasks that you can do to help you get through this time and spend a little bit less energy on worrying about your scan.
Before the Scan:
Information Gathering: Ask your care team specific questions about the scan procedure: what to expect, how long it will take, when and how you will receive the results, and if someone can be with you at any points of your appointment. Knowing the process can reduce anxiety about the unknown, and creating a visual walk through in your mind can really help.
Schedule Strategically: If possible, schedule scans early in the day to minimise the waiting period and associated anxiety.
Prepare for the Scan: Know & follow all pre-scan instructions - for example, wearing comfortable clothing for certain scans can reduce discomfort, wearing shoes that are easy to slip on & off.
Mind-Body Techniques: Use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, or gentle stretching. These can help calm the nervous system.
If you have never tried meditation before or you have tried and “failed,” then I have a really, really simple technique to follow that I learned from a monk on a podcast. He too thought he was failing at meditation because his mind kept wandering but what he said is actually the art of meditation is learning how to bring your mind back. If you focus on just your breath, just listening to your body breathe in and breathe out, you don’t need to change how you breathe but that is your focus. You can start by doing this for just 30 seconds. When you feel your brain thinking about the scan or shopping list, or about everything else you need to do, then you just have to stop and say, “Okay, back to the breath,” and you bring yourself back. That’s how you get better at it and you will find that the more you do it the less your mind wanders and the quicker you are able to bring your mind back to your breath.
Maintain Routine: Stick to your normal daily schedule as much as possible, including sleep, meals, and physical activity. This gives you a sense of normalcy and control. And we know that physical activity can help to reduce stress and anxiety so a walk before your scan and if possible a short walk afterwards or meet a friend for a cup of tea and relax - almost like a debrief after your scan.
During the Scan:
Communication with Technicians: Let the technicians know you are feeling anxious or claustrophobic. They want to help you to feel as comfortable as possible and they may be able to offer reassurance, comforting techniques or breaks throughout the appointment.
Distraction Techniques: Focus on your breathing, count backwards, play an alphabet game or listen to music if permitted. Some facilities offer eye masks or headphones to help.
Medication: If anxiety is severe, you can also discuss with your doctor the possibility of a mild sedative to help you relax during the procedure, but make sure you give yourself plenty of time before the scan to have this conversation in case you need to do a trial to see how the medication works for you.
After your scan - waiting for results:
Plan for Results Delivery: Make sure you find out how long it should take for you to get the results. Can you book a date in advance to discuss them? Also know whether you can have somebody with you to receive the results to help you on the day to understand what is being said to you and to help you reduce that anxiety on the day of your results.
Routine: Go back to your normal routine. You’ll likely have a couple of weeks between your actual scan and your result. Again back to a feeling of normalcy, back to what you can control and doing things to support yourself physically & mentally.
Seek Support: Talk to friends, family, or a support group. Sharing your feelings can reduce feelings of isolation and provide comfort. Online support groups or communities can also be valuable resources, Such as the Maggie’s centres, the Macmillan Outreach centres and online forums
Journaling: Writing down your thoughts and feelings can be a therapeutic way to process anxiety, particularly if you don’t feel able to speak to anybody about it.
Mindfulness and Acceptance: Practice mindfulness to stay in the present moment rather than dwelling on future uncertainties. This might look like the breathwork we discussed earlier, some meditation, or some gentle yoga. Accepting that some things are beyond your control can actually be empowering and help to lift some of your heavier feelings.
Physical Activity: Regular exercise can be a powerful stress reliever and mood booster - As I said before this doesn’t need to be dramatic.
It can just be:
going for a walk
doing a body weight routine at home
doing some stretching
Doing this regularly has a huge impact on not just your mental health and anxiety but also on your cancer journey as a whole in terms of supporting yourself and reducing your risk of recurrence and reducing your side effects from your treatments
I hope you found this helpful and it’s helped you to understand that scanxiety is very normal and a very valid response to everything you are going through right now.
There are so many different & effective strategies you can try to help you manage it, more than I have mentioned above so try some things and see what works best for you.
Communicate with your care team and your loved ones, your support network around you at home, your friends; they are so important & they want to support you - even if they struggle to find the words to let you know that.
And if this is something that you would like support with, I help cancer survivors from diagnosis right through to survivorship years after treatment ends.
I help you to get stronger, fitter, and healthier, both physically and mentally through individually programmed support in:
Physical activity
Safe exercises
Nutrition guidance
Lifestyle factors
Stress
Sleep
I look at the bigger picture and piece everything together so that you are doing everything in your control to feel as good as you can during each stage of your cancer journey, and not wasting time or energy on things that are unnecessary.
We will lower your risk of recurrence, minimize your side effects from any treatments you are going through, or that you are still struggling with post treatment; and improve your quality of life in the everyday ways.
Shopping, socialising, walking, getting involved with family activities…. we’ll work on making everything easier and more enjoyable.
You can get in touch via: