Scanxiety: — How to Get Through the Wait for Results

Scanxiety is the anxiety that builds before and during the wait for cancer scan results. It is recognised in psycho-oncology literature as a normal psychological response to the uncertainty of the pre-result period — not an overreaction and not a sign that you are managing your illness badly. Most people going through cancer treatment experience it at some point, and many experience it before every scan.

For most people it intensifies as the scan date approaches, peaks in the period immediately before the results appointment, and resolves once they know the result. For some it persists after a difficult result, or builds into ongoing health anxiety. If the anxiety is affecting your sleep, your relationships, or your ability to get through daily life around scan periods, tell your oncology team — it is a clinical matter, not something to push through alone.

You can ask how long the process is expected to take and whether there is any flexibility. Some teams can call with a verbal result before the written report is finalised; others cannot within their workflow. What you can always ask for is a clear timeline — when the report is expected, when your oncologist will have reviewed it, and when you will be contacted. Knowing the process helps more than waiting without a timeline.

Many people now receive reports directly through patient portals before their appointment. Reading a radiology report without oncology context often increases anxiety rather than reducing it — the language is technical, comparisons require knowledge of your full history, and findings that look alarming in isolation may already be known to your team. If you do read your report, write down what you do not understand and bring those questions to your appointment rather than trying to interpret it alone.

Yes. Many cancer centres, including CION, can connect you with a counsellor or psycho-oncologist — a mental health specialist who works specifically with people affected by cancer. Peer support groups, where you speak with others in the same situation, can also help in a way that information alone does not. Ask your oncology team or the centre's patient care coordinator what is available — psychological support is part of cancer care, not an extra.

The most useful things are often the simplest: being present without needing to fix the anxiety, not asking repeatedly whether anything has been heard, and staying available. Plan something ordinary together during the wait period — a meal, a walk, something familiar — that gives the day structure without making the scan its centrepiece. At the results appointment, write things down, because the person receiving the news will often miss half of what is said.