Kate, who has secondary breast cancer, gives her tips on managing scanxiety and upcoming appointments.
Kate, who has secondary breast cancer, gives her tips on managing scanxiety and upcoming appointments.
Scans and results have turned my life upside-down
Sometimes I feel I could write a book on this subject. I’ve had so many scans and received so many results over the past ten years since my initial primary cancer diagnosis and now my secondary breast cancer diagnosis.
There have been some where I’ve been able to breathe a sigh of relief at the news, and others which have turned my life, and that of my family and friends, upside down.
My worries about scans are worse than the reality
First of all it’s worth mentioning that the scans themselves are generally ok to deal with, the thought is often worse than the reality.
They come in many forms – it could be a mammogram, ultrasound, CT, MRI, PET, Bone etc. That said, the first time you go for any of these scans it’s going to feel daunting, as it’s always a case of the ‘unknown’.
Will it hurt? How will it make me feel while it’s happening? How will I feel afterwards?
Usually the hospital will send some information through with the appointment which will explain what will happen, but I now break them down into my own categories:
- Mammogram – the boob squasher
- Ultrasound – the cold, jelly one
- CT – the big ring doughnut one where you feel like you’ve wet yourself!
- MRI – the ‘rave’ tunnel one which seems to last forever
- Bone – the dye injection then wait three hours for the short body scan one
I’ve not had a PET scan so far during my treatment….that’s the only one left to tick off my list!
The hospital staff know you’re nervous
So it’s clear that not all scans are equal, some are quick, some take a long time, there are some where you need to hold your breath and some where they inject you with radioactive substances or dye which makes you feel like you’ve wet yourself.
But what I’ve always found is the staff undertaking the scans are friendly and comforting as they know, as you sit in that waiting room, that you will usually be a bag of nerves. Even though I’ve had so many I still get nervous, so I take things to distract me (I love a good puzzle book).
Then once the scan is done…. It’s the waiting. It’s always the most difficult bit and what you will hear a number of patients call ‘scanxiety’. It is something that other cancer patients can definitely understand.
For me, the key is distraction.
Mastering the art of scanxiety
Kate and her husband
Try and get an understanding of when you are likely to receive the results and how you will receive them which means, you can give yourself that ‘time off’ worrying until the results are actually due. Even if you worry, I’m afraid to say that there is nothing you can do about what those results will say at all. Coming from a control freak like me, I know that can be hard to digest.
To be honest, I’m still trying to master the art of scanxiety myself as it is natural to worry if you are going for diagnostic testing or if you’ve received a breast cancer diagnosis.
Here are my top tips for managing how you feel.
Kate’s five tips for managing scans and results
1. Distraction is key - Whether it’s listening to your favourite music, dancing, singing, meeting friends, getting stuck into your favourite hobby, what is the one thing that ‘lifts’ you? Whatever that is, do it.
2. Try not to make predictions - I need to take my own advice for this one, but try not to predict all the possible outcomes and fret about them, it is a waste of your precious energy until you get the results and know exactly what you are dealing with.
3. What will be, will be - I can’t take credit for this one, but there was a young woman, Emily Hayward, who, when dealing with her own incurable cancer diagnosis, asked her wife what her thoughts were about some upcoming scan results.
She said, ‘No matter what I think now, I cannot change the outcome of what that results will say, so there is no point sitting and worrying about it.’
4. Avoid searching online - While the internet is a wonderful thing, it can also be very dangerous too. Everyone is different and most breast cancer diagnoses are different, as there are so many forms of the disease and grades and stages, so try not to scare yourself before you even know what you are dealing with.
5. Be kind to yourself - One thing I often do after a scan, or results – no matter what the outcome – is treat myself to a cream doughnut or vanilla slice. They are two cakes that I love, and while I certainly don’t eat them very often, I sometimes feel like I deserve a treat!
If you have worries or concerns about upcoming appointments, you can speak to our breast care nurses by phone or email.