Scanxiety: Managing the emotional impacts of medical scans or tests

Preparing for medical scans and tests can be a very stressful time for people living with a lung condition.  Regardless of whether your scan is for diagnostic purposes, monitoring treatment, surveillance, or a routine check-up, you can experience significant apprehension before, during or after a scan while waiting for the results. This feeling of apprehension or fear around having a scan or waiting for scan results is a very normal response and is sometimes known as “scanxiety”.   

For some people, scanxiety can begin as soon as a scan is recommended or scheduled. You may have trouble eating or sleeping, feel irritable or moody, or experience physical symptoms such as muscle tension, headaches, faster breathing, diarrhoea, palpitations, and sweating.  

Scans and tests are often an essential part of treatment and ongoing care, so it’s important to learn how to recognise scanxiety and its effect on you and your loved ones, as well as learn ways to lessen its burden. There are some things you can do which may help you to cope with scanxiety. 

Acknowledge your feelings 

To help manage and ease your scanxiety, it is important to raise your awareness of it. Everyone responds differently to stress and knowing how your own body reacts is vital. Being aware of patterns (when scanxiety starts and finishes), any triggers, or an early onset of physical or emotional symptoms can help address it early on. Admitting you are feeling anxious and letting your loved ones and healthcare team know is also important. They can support you at this stressful time and help to make the experience go as smoothly as possible. If you are speaking to a psychologist, social worker or counsellor, they can work with you to help you develop ways to cope. 

Have a plan in place for receiving results 

Having a plan in place to receive your results can greatly reduce the burden of scanxiety. You can ask your treating healthcare team when to expect the results, who will provide them to you and how will you receive them – either via phone or a face-to-face appointment. Knowing this information can help manage uncertainty while you are waiting and lessen the wondering and worrying about when you will hear back.

Engage in distraction 

Engaging in a distraction activity is another way of coping with scanxiety. Whether it is an outing with family or friends, exercising, gardening, cooking, meditating, playing games or a craft, the goal is to distract yourself with a repetitive activity that requires your full focus and stops you thinking about what’s ahead of you. Practising mindfulness and self-gratitude are also helpful types of distraction, making you focus on the present moment, being aware of your current feelings and sensations without judgement, and acknowledging what you are grateful for. You can find Lung Foundation Australia’s Mindfulness and Self-compassion guided practices here. 

Participate in Peer Support 

Whilst admitting your scanxiety to yourself, loved ones and healthcare team is important, it can also help speaking to others living with a similar diagnosis who are going through a similar situation. Speaking with others who experience scanxiety can provide reassurance that your feelings are normal and that you are not alone. You may also find strength in learning coping strategies that have worked for others, as well as providing your own support to group members. Lung Foundation Australia offers online peer support groups for people living with lung cancer and other lung conditions. You can find information about our peer support options here.

Other practical tips 

• Write down a list of questions to ask your healthcare team about any preparation and what to expect during your scan or test. Understanding the type of scan or test you are having, how long it will take and how you will be positioned can help you mentally prepare.  
• Tell your treating healthcare team if you are worried. They can then help you to plan ways to feel more comfortable. 
• If your scan or test will take a while, plan to bring some calming activities with you – bring your phone or tablet with headphones to listen to music, watch a movie or bring a book you have been looking forward to reading. 
• Plan something you can look forward to in the “waiting for test results” time period – you might catch up with friends or family, take a day trip or a mini-break or find something to do around home that will hold your attention. 
• Monitor the information you’re scrolling through on social media. Websites are designed to pick up on algorithms and it will pick up your searches.  You may notice that one search on “anxiety” results in many more pieces of information ‘appearing’ on your feed.  Being mindful of this is important to avoid being caught in an unwanted spiral. 

Read our resource, Preparing for scans and tests checklist, to access the practical tips you can undertake before and after your appointments.