How Can People with Cancer Manage ‘Scanxiety’?

Imagine your doctor sends you for a CAT scan. During the procedure, you feel confident and ready to get some answers. But when you get home, your heart starts to race, and you can’t stop wondering what the results might show.

You wake up worried at night and feel distracted during the day.

You’re experiencing “scanxiety.”

The term describes the anxiety and stress that people feel related to medical scans and tests, especially during periods of uncertainty.

Scanxiety is common among patients with cancer regardless of age, cancer type, or disease prognosis.

Patients with cancer experience a roller coaster of emotions, says Lara Traeger, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System. Questions from family and friends about how treatment is going may add additional stress.

“The way that I see this in practice is people will talk about this building anxiety up until the date of the scan, and then wait for the results, and then have some reprieve afterward, but then it starts to build again,” Dr. Traeger says.

It’s normal to feel stressed during the “purgatory” between undergoing a test and having a health care provider explain the results, says Mikkael Sekeres, M.D., M.S., chief of hematology at Sylvester, who has discussed the topic in the Washington Post and the New York Times.

Patients can take steps from the beginning of their cancer journey to manage scanxiety.

Before a diagnostic test, ask your health care provider:

• Why the test was ordered
• What the provider will be looking for
• When you’ll get the results
• What results you should focus on

Dr. Sekeres says: “Ask about boundaries: What’s the best-case scenario? What’s the worst-case scenario?”

Make a plan to follow up and discuss the results in person, via telehealth, or via online messaging.

Then, decide how to approach your test results.

Many patients can choose to view their scan results in an online patient portal. But it’s up to you whether to view them before you talk to your provider.

“Assess your own comfort level and your anxiety around looking at electronic medical record test results without having them contextualized,” Dr. Sekeres says. “Are you going to be OK with that? Conversely, are you going to be OK not looking, knowing that they’re out there?”

If you decide to look before getting context, remember that not all abnormalities are concerning, even if the language sounds serious, Dr. Sekeres says. For example, a radiology report may say something like “cannot rule out cancer,” but the findings may be nothing to worry about.

Talk to your doctor if symptoms of anxiety about your scan start.

If you recognize that scanxiety is impacting your quality of life, tell your oncologist, says Dr. Traeger.

“Sometimes patients and families might not prioritize talking about these issues because these visits are short, and they may feel like they don’t want to sound ungrateful to their oncologist or burden them with their emotional issues,” she says. “But there is absolutely space to talk about this.”

Practice stress management techniques

Stress management techniques you’ve used in other parts of your life can apply to scanxiety, says Dr. Traeger: “People might be familiar with using meditation or prayer to help as a way to increase a sense of relaxation, and that can be used for this kind of anxiety, too.”

It’s realistic for cancer patients to be concerned about their results, Dr. Traeger says, but worrying doesn’t help solve the problem.

“We encourage people to think about states of mind that they would prefer to be in, like peace, comfort, joy, agency, power, creativity and humor,” she says. “If you can schedule into your day activities that encourage those states of mind, that will help orient your attention to other things.”

Note moments of appreciation

Patients with cancer can feel pressured when people encourage them to be grateful. Instead, Dr. Traeger recommends noting “appreciations” or small moments like nice weather or good coffee.

One patient even got her family to participate in writing down daily appreciations, putting them in a jar and going through them together at the end of the week.

Know that you’re not alone

Alexis Pitcairn-Ramirez, M.S.N., a nurse practitioner in gynecologic oncology at Sylvester, encourages her patients to practice mindfulness, but she also encourages them to connect with others through a support group.

“If you talk to other people in a similar situation, it makes you feel less isolated or less lonely,” Pitcairn-Ramirez says.

You can also talk with anyone on your care team with whom you feel comfortable, she says.

“It’s hard to be a patient, and we recognize that,” she says. “

Anxiety is such a universal part of the human condition, especially when you feel like you have something that is life-changing or will really determine the next portion of your life.”

Written by Tara Roberts for Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Tags: Anxiety relief techniques for cancer patients, Cancer diagnosis stress management, Cancer patient anxiety, Dr. Lara Traeger, Dr. Mikkael Sekeres, Emotional impact of cancer scans, Medical scan stress, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center