Scan-xiety
Before, during, and after treatment your health will be closely followed by your medical team. And for me, a part of that following was through images taken through CT scans and bloodwork.
​
Leading up to the imaging and labs, anxiety would sometimes set in. The following is experience-informed, speaking about my encounters with scan-xiety.
What is scan-xiety?
I had seen this term around the internet before treatment, and didn't think too much of it. However, once treatment was underway I understood the portmanteau.
​
Anxiety before a scan set in for me when I realized how much of treatment would be affected by the images and numbers from the scans and labs.
​
"How many scans will I have?"
Unfortunately, there isn't a concrete answer I can give you. A doctor or nurse can give you an idea about the frequency based on your diagnosis and treatment plan.
​
In my experience, I had numerous scans before diagnosis while the medical team was working on determining what was happening in my body. The day I went to the ER to check on a growing "ball" in my lower abdomen, I had about four scans (MRI, CT, and x-rays) and labs hourly.
During treatment, I would need to have labs done before each chemo infusion. Because those results can take some time to come in, I found it most helpful having them done 24-48 hours before the first infusion of each cycle. That way, if some of the numbers were going to affect treatment there was a little advance notice. During one cycle, I tried to save a trip to the hospital by doing my labs about an hour before my infusion appointment. That was a mistake because the labs took a few hours to come back and it threw off the scheduled appointment times for me and other patients.
Since completing treatment, my care team has me going for scans and labs quarterly, every three months. The plan is for me to be on this schedule for the first two years after treatment. And if all goes according to plan, after those two years the frequency will decrease to every six months, then every year.
​
Coping
I wish I could give you a trick to make the anxiety disappear, but I cannot. Only you know what you need and can discover what can help you through. For me, it was talking about how I was feeling with my care team and reminding myself of what in my control before scans.
​
As a therapist, I'm a big champion of talking about feelings. Communicating my anxiety to my doctors, nurses, and lab techs helped me help myself. Yes, I still had to have the scans and labs done, but my doctors did their best to address it and the techs would treatment especially kindly. Telling my friends about when my next scans are also helps me to be supported by them. My loving people know how hard the scan-xiety can be for me, and they always send me extra care in the days leading up. Let people know where you're at and they will do their best help you.
​
Such areas of control included taking care of my body. I did my best to eat well and exercise, as my doctors recommended because of how nutrition and movement affect treatment outcomes. Those thing were really hard by cycle four, but I like to think that those efforts had a part in getting me through. By turning some anxiety into action, it helped me to reclaim some power during cancer, something that's outside of a patient's control.
​
What you're going through is a lot. Take it easy with yourself. Breathe, focus, and persist.