Fear of cancer scanning is so powerful and normal, there’s a term for it, where the two words overtake each other: scanxiety. Scanxiety refers to a heightened, preoccupying state of worry before, after, and during the cancer scanning process.
Sophie Kinsella's biographical novel about her diagnosis with brain cancer, What Does It Feel Like, has a tragicomic section with tips. The narrator’s tip for coping with radiotherapy? Pretend it's a high-tech spa and your medical gown is a gorgeous robe. But in the section "The Way to Get Through Scanxiety,” the narrator simply gives up on the idea of tips: "Is there a way? Please let me know what it is."
Anxiety about scans is a mind-game and it's tough. We know that it's probably impossible to fully ward off every moment of anxiety from your brain, but here are some strategies – from our Jadey community of fellow patients, therapists, and social workers – to ease it a bit.
First, you’re in strong (if nervous) company
Sarah Murphy, a licensed therapist who has worked with breast and ovarian cancer patients for nearly 20 years, says she’s never had a client who’s had scans coming up who didn’t get scanxiety, and typically when they first hear of the term, they already feel relief in knowing they’re not alone.
Murphy calls it an “almost paradoxical” response—whatever’s happened has happened, but the scan brings that into your conscious awareness. The time in waiting before the scan, the time after the scan knowing there might be something and it might be cancer, can be agonizing.
“It’s the great unknown,” says Murphy. “My clients who have been through treatment and have scans for years and years after have said that it really does not get better with time. Just know that you’re part of the sisterhood of people who have to go through that.”
Eva Ramos had a double mastectomy in February 2013, followed by six weeks of radiation. In the years since her treatment, she has gone in for an ultrasound every six months to ensure she is still cancer-free. Though it’s been over a decade of this routine, she says she still feels scanxiety every time.
“You just want to make sure they don’t find anything, especially after you’ve already gone through it,” Eva says. “But, you just have to take it in and breathe and know that there’s so many advanced treatments now that, if they are to find something, then at least it would be taken care of.”
Sarah Kurker, a social worker who specializes in oncology and professor of social work at Arizona State University says reframing scanxiety as a normal experience and talking with people you trust or who have had similar experiences, like a social worker, fellow patient or a loved one, can help alleviate some of your anxiety.
What does a scanxiety spiral feel like?
When your brain senses some kind of threat, like the possibility of cancer, it triggers your autonomic nervous system to initiate a “fight-or-flight” response. Your autonomic nervous system controls things like heart rate, blood pressure and breathing, and in “fight-or-flight,” it releases a bunch of stress hormones into your bloodstream, which can then manifest into physical symptoms.
A 2023 literature review found that scanxiety is associated with symptoms like trouble sleeping, feelings of dread, poor concentration and irritability, as well as links between scanxiety and poorer quality of life. And the discomfort of the scans themselves certainly does not help. When it comes to scanxiety, many people report feeling stress from the physical process. Many say the machines are anxiety-provoking, unfamiliar and claustrophobic and many also have concerns about exposure to radiation from the procedure.
Luckily, there are things you can do to regulate and reduce your anxiety.
What you can do to cope with your scanxiety
1. Distract yourself and move
If you notice yourself beginning to feel anxious, what Murphy calls a “fight-or-flight freeze,” try to move your body to break the state. Murphy recommends things like simply moving to a different room, going for a walk or practicing some kind of mindful movement, which can help distract you and prevent you from spiraling further.
She also recommends having a variety of strategies prepared—potential movement options, positive things to think about, or breathing techniques you’ve practiced—for when you might start to feel a scanxiety spiral coming on. Knowing prior to your scan, “‘oh, I’m probably going to be anxious, so I’m going to make sure that I have these things lined up for me to direct my thoughts in a different direction,” says Murphy. Have distractions already on a list on your phone, get yourself outside for a walk, have a fun magazine in your bag, have your funny friend on call to text you memes or a piece of gossip they’re saving for you.
2. Try some specific breathing exercises
Murphy and Kurker recommend trying any breathing technique that adds some intentionality to the focus on your breathing. Murphy notes that simply lengthening the exhale is known to downregulates the autonomic nervous system and get us out of a fight or flight freeze.
But, some other options to try out include—
4-7-8 breathing: Inhale for four seconds, hold that breath for seven, and then exhale for eight seconds.
Quick Coherence technique: First, breathe slower and deeper than usual, around four seconds in and four seconds out, and imagine that breath coming from the middle of your chest rather than your diaphragm. While breathing, think of something or someone that causes positive feelings.
“Burst breath”: Named by Kurker, this technique involves breathing in until you feel you can’t take in any more air, and then taking one more inhale in, and then releasing.
Read more of our favorite breathwork techniques on our guide here.
3. Mindful movement (Tai Chi, yoga, walking)
Murphy recommends mindful movement techniques like walking, yoga, or Tai Chi. Practices like yoga and Tai Chi synchronize breath with movement. These can both distract your mind and regulate your nervous system.
She also recommends EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique; her technique here) tapping, which involves tapping on certain acupressure points on the face and upper body points that may be related to stress, like your inner eyebrow and your collarbone. Studies have found it to be effective in reducing stress and anxiety.
4. Other support options
Robin Katz, a licensed oncology social worker at Northwestern Medicine , says if your anxiety feels more intense than normal, if it’s interfering with your daily life, you should let your oncologist know. They can refer you to a social worker, psychiatrist, or therapist to help you better manage these emotions, and help you to see if pharmaceutical intervention is right for you.
Marcella Kelson, a licensed social worker with a private coaching practice, says that antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication are often an essential tool (read our interview with Marcella here). “In an acutely terrifying period: that’s exactly when these tools are supposed to be utilized,” Marcella says. “Some aid to not feel terrified all the time, to not rev up your nervous system all the time, is a gift that you give yourself and everyone around you.”
5. Know that the feeling won’t last forever
With scanxiety, “just know that it’s going to pass, that it doesn’t last forever,” Murphy says. “Everybody has to go through it and it’s just sort of putting one foot in front of the other.” The low-level anxiety will probably always be there, and become heightened around the scan; the only way out is through.
