Scanxiety: Coping With Anxiety Around Scans and Test Results

After cancer treatment, getting scans or other follow-up tests can make people feel very anxious. Some cancer survivors call this feeling "scanxiety."

This anxiety usually grows out of the most common fear after treatment: that the cancer will come back, which is called a recurrence. This fear is normal, and it often lessens over time. Still, even years after treatment, certain events can bring it back. Follow-up visits, screenings, certain symptoms, or the anniversary of your diagnosis can all trigger worry.

Follow-up care itself is a good thing. Regular check-ups let your team look for any changes in your health and check for problems that can show up months or years after treatment. Knowing that your team is watching over you can be reassuring, even when the tests feel stressful.

When you meet with your doctor for follow-up visits, it is important to talk openly about any physical or emotional problems. Always mention symptoms, pain, or concerns that are new or that will not go away.

Keep in mind that just because you have new symptoms, it does not mean the cancer has come back. It is normal to have fears about every ache and pain, but they may be problems your doctor can easily address. Ask your team how long certain side effects might last. Over time, you may start to recognize certain feelings in your body as normal.

For many people the toughest stretch is not the scan itself but the gap between the scan and the results. Not knowing, and filling that gap with the worst possibilities, is its own kind of hard. Knowing that in advance lets you plan for the window rather than be caught off guard by it.

Part of what makes this wait so heavy is its shape. During treatment there are tasks. You show up, take the drug, and count the cycles, and doing those things is itself a form of action. A scan offers nothing to do. The pictures are already taken. The answer already exists in a radiologist's queue, and nothing you do in the next four days changes it. That gap between "it is already decided" and "I do not know yet" is where scanxiety lives.

A few practical moves take some of the sting out of it:

• Ask, when the scan is ordered, exactly when the results will be ready and who will call you.
• Ask whether the scan and the results appointment can be booked close together. A ten-day gap is often avoidable.
• Find out whether results post to your online portal before your doctor has read them. Then decide in advance whether you want to look at them alone.
• Bring someone to the results visit. Two people hear more than one, especially in the first minute.

There are steps you can take that many survivors find helpful.

• Let your care team know your concerns. Be honest about your fears so they can respond. The risk of recurrence is different for each person, and your team can give you the facts about your cancer. Just having the conversation may calm your fears.
• Take notes about your symptoms. Keep a diary or notebook of symptoms and side effects. Write down questions before follow-up visits so you are ready to talk about what you have been going through.
• Ask for a follow-up care plan. This is a summary of your treatment plus next steps for your care. Having a plan may give you a sense of control over your health.
• Keep busy while waiting for results. Schedule time with friends or family, reconnect with people you have not talked to in a while, or treat yourself to self-care such as exercise, meditation, a massage, a manicure, or anything that takes your mind off waiting.
• Talk to a counselor if you need to. If your fears feel like more than you can handle, ask for a referral. A counselor or therapist can help you address your anxiety, and support groups may help too.

There is a point where this stops being ordinary worry. Watch for it. If the fear is keeping you from sleeping or eating, if it takes over the weeks between visits, or if it is making you delay or skip a scheduled scan, say so out loud at your next appointment.

Missed follow-up is the real harm here, and it is a common one. Oncology teams hear this often. They can bring in a counselor, adjust the scan schedule, or arrange for results to come the same day.

A wave of this fear returning after two or five good years is not a relapse of your mental health. It is a common pattern.

• Call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 if you are thinking about ending your life, or about harming yourself. That is not a wait-for-the-clinic call. The Lifeline is free and answers day and night, and you can chat online at 988lifeline.org. If you feel you may act on the thought, go to an emergency department or ask someone to stay with you until help arrives.
• Call your care team the same day if anxiety is causing panic attacks, if you have not slept or eaten for days, or if you are about to cancel a scan because of dread. They can move an appointment or bring in mental health support quickly.
• Call your care team within a day or two if worry is taking over most days between visits, or if a new symptom is on your mind. Having it checked usually settles the question faster than waiting does.

A few gentle habits can support you around scan time and beyond:

• Relax. Relaxation exercises, meditation, and yoga can help reduce stress and ease worry.
• Talk to others. Sharing your feelings with friends and family may help you feel less alone.
• Move your body. Moderate exercise like walking, biking, or swimming can reduce anxiety and lift your mood.
• Write it down. Journaling helps many people let go of worries and fears.

Some people say being organized and having plans helps them feel more in control. Staying involved in your health care, asking questions, keeping your appointments, and setting a daily schedule are all things you can control. While no one can control every thought, many survivors say they try not to dwell on the fearful ones and instead focus on the things that make them feel better.

• National Cancer Institute — Life After Cancer Treatment
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline