Scanxiety tips and tricks

"Scanxiety" love that term. Had never heard of it until I read it in your headline for this post. Googled it, and learned something new. The optimum word here is "learn," or learning something new. In the cancer world "Anxiety knows no boundaries." I get a form of Scanxiety. I don't suffer from it. I use to. But, now I look at it like a normal reaction within my senses of the unknown.

We all do Stage 4 differently. A buddy of mine just learned about his stage 4 on December 9th and he was done/gone by December 24th. I discovered my Stage 4ness 5 years ago and I am living my best version now. So, it's January 2025. Looking at 4 oncology related events (Office visits, injections, and something new, Pluvicto) this month. In between Oncology Related things I try to live a fulfilling life; books, walks, writing, discussions with buddies, weights at my Fitness Over Fifty gym (Which is the most caring place I've ever been, my over 70 buddies, most of us suffer from something, yet we lift weight while socializing) while following the Stage 4 Golden Rule of Exercise, Nutrition, Mindfulness, Sociableness while caring for ourselves and others. Joy my friends, much joy.

@my44 I am so sorry that happened to you! I am grateful that test results now almost immediately have to be put in my electronic chart. I too had a caring nurse. She saved Christmas and my sanity. She made a call to radiology. I make scan appointments three months in advance- reading them should be on someone’s workplan for that day or the next. Better pay for radiologist would help with the shortage. AI may have potential.

Thanks, @verena
You're so right about getting results almost immedately in our electronic charts. Back when I had the lumpectomy, there were no electronic charts. They didn't come into use until the early 2000's.
I'm glad to hear that you had a caring nurse, too. I don't think nurses get as much credit as they should for all that they do. Most are very caring and compassionate and have great bedside manners. And some go above and beyond the call of duty.
With how much our healthcare system has expanded, they do need to find a way to resolve all of these shortages, some of which cause us to have to wait months to be seen or to get scheduled for scans...even when conditions are serious and need immediate attention. Better pay would definitely help. As far as AI, I also think there's potential...to a point. It's not infallible, and I think that there would be some instances when human eyes, cognition, experience, and intuition would be needed to better interpret data. Best wishes for 2025...with reduced anxiety for all of us.

It is frustrating! I worry about the upcoming scan and once I get results (so far good news) I barely celebrate before I start the cycle of worrying for the next scan

@aardvark2118 Oh no 😢 That must be so difficult and draining. I’m not sure know how or why I can relax until next scans. I think the practical thing is distraction. Living each day as fully as possible in the now. Worrying is so stressful, and you have an extra long period 🌺

I’ve thought hard about it over time and I’ll be SO cross with myself, IF I get bad results and need to go back into treatment, that I haven’t made the most of the “free” time of good results. I hope that may also help you focus more on now.

@proftom2 I’m so glad to hear how well you’re doing with your diagnosis and living your best life.

So awesome that you had to Google “scanxiety” to see what it is and then learn there’s an emotion out there you haven’texperienced. For me that’s like a very extroverted friend who says she doesn’t know what “shyness” feels like.

So sorry for your friend - that was pretty much my mom some years back. Less than 30 days. I think that also plays into my Scanxiety.

Praying for continuing good health, and thank you so much for sharing 🙏🌺