Scanxiety overtaking my life

My wife had the lower lobe of her right lung removed when cancer was found purely by accident by a CT for unrelated problem. She had targeted radiation and some chemotherapy. She is currently on year six cancer free. My suggestion is to get some counseling from your cancer organization. Don’t look at your CTs like the only thing they find is bad. They have been delivering good news to us for 6 years. Stress is bad for us and a positive outlook promotes healing. I hope you get the support and counseling that helps heal your body and mind.

@stevelc thank you Steve. I just can’t get ahold of myself and everything you are saying is true! I’m so glad your wife is doing well and the scans have been great that is so helpful to hear and a good way to look at it!

It’s absolutely normal to feel the way you do, cancer is scary and the fear of it is real, I had a lobectomy on my upper left lobe, stage 1A2, surgery was successful and no further treatment was needed. I worried endlessly about it coming back and almost 2 years later it did so they removed a wedge from the lower right lobe with no further treatment. The best thing we have is early detection and this makes a huge difference for better results, I see that you had early diagnosis too. I know it’s difficult to go through the scans always worrying if they will find something, the best we have is that it was caught early, I find that it helps me to keep this in mind, not knowing is far more scarier, best wishes for good results.

@frouke So true. I am coming up for 3 years in remission after hectic treatment for stage 4 appendix cancer. Last treatment was in May 2022. I am still closely surveilled and I still am very anxious in the days leading up to each rescan and until I’ve seen my oncologist to review my reports. Between scans I’m fine. I’m now scanned 6 monthly and life is now in 6 monthly instalments! I too take comfort from knowing that at least any change can be jumped on quickly.

I think there are a lot of us that suffer anxiety about our CAT scan results. I can’t imagine anyone not being anxious about the possibility of finding cancer

@frouke thank you. Your post grounded me. This has just been such a harrowing scary ordeal and I feel frozen with fear most of the time. I’m so sorry that you had a recurrence. Did they give you any insight into what happened? Was your first surgery considered curative?

@lhatfield96 My first surgery was considered curative, lobectomies are considered the best treatment for early stage cancer. The surgeon did not consider the second cancer to be connected with the first time, I don’t think that they really know all the answers, cancer is a very insidious disease and highly unpredictable, I pray that one day soon they will have a cure and rid the world from this disease, amen 🙏

@isadora2021 I felt so great in December when I go the all clear. I can relate to what you said about life being in 6 month installments. Maybe I need to accept that is how I need to look at things for now.

@lhatfield96 That feeling on getting the all clear sure is brilliant ❤️‍🩹

It’s always going to be difficult around scan times but there are ways of dialling down the anxiety. It won’t be the same techniques for everyone. The goal though is the same - being free to enjoy being all clear and not wasting that time on debilitating anxiety. Easier said than done 😊

I also remind myself how resilient I’ve learned to be so there’s also comfort in knowing I can dig deep again, if I need to.

I also still follow my treatment approach of being thankful for each day and making the most of them. Sometimes that involves snuggling on the couch chilling out and watching Netflix or reading - definitely not a wasted day!! Other days it’s more active and social ❤️‍🩹

During the day I try and focus on what I can control to help my body do its thing like my nutrition, exercise and mindfulness practices.

At night saying the Lord’s Prayer in my head over and over focussing on, and feeling, each word or deep breathing exercises help me settle when I’m lying in bed and I start worrying.

Sending you hugs and hope you put together practices which help you keep a lid on the anxiety ❤️‍🩹

@lhatfield96, The way you are feeling is understandable. I have scans every 3-4 months. I TRY to flip the narrative in my head. I tell myself, if there is something of concern, worrying about it is not going to change the outcome. If there is something there, I want to know about it so we can act on it early. Also, knowing what we'll do when I do have progression helps. I have a plan in place with my oncologist, which has changed over time as new information or treatments have come available. I think I'm ok leading up to scans, but once they are over with, I do feel the sense of relief too. It's not an easy situation to manage. It sounds like you are taking next steps to get some additional help, that's important too. Good luck to you tomorrow, take a deep breath, wishing you well.