Hi everybody, Im new to the group so thought I'd introduce myself! My husband was diagnosed stage 4 NSCLC on 23rd December 2014 age 32. He is currently receiving maintenance pemetrexed and has been stable on this since diagnosis! He has a scan later today so the scanxiety is going to kick in just in time for Christmas! Does anybody have any tips on how to overcome scanxiety? Or how best to support my husband through it?
Many thanks
HiWifey 123,
Welcome to the forum.Waiting for the scan results is understandably an anxious time for both you and your husband.There is a website which may be of interest to you.
the following link suggests practical things to do whilst waiting for the scan
With best wishes to you both.
All the team at the Roy Castle Helpline.
It's hard waiting for results. Even though my husband only had four days recently it felt long er
Hi Wifey123,
Welcome to the group, scanxiety does not only affect the cancer victim but their partner can also bear the brunt as well. I had a scan yesterday and the past few days I have been very difficult to live with although now that it is over I've had the first good night's sleep in days. I was asked to help out someone and I found this really helped it seemed my mind was concentrating very much on the other person I didn't give myself a second thought. I feel as I have stumbled on the answer, if your mind is fully occupied the scanxiety is pushed to the one side. Your husband is young, perhaps he likes to be on the computer or some have said reading a book or listening to music helps. Another site you might find helpful is inspire.com where other lung cancer victims share their experiences and can give helpful advice. Hope he continues with the stable scans, stable is good. Regards Iris
Welcome to the group. Totally agree with the comments above - I find distraction effective - whether helping somebody else, being active or absorbed in another task (swimming, work, or whatever) and also found the book "cancer is a word not a sentence' by Dr Rob Buckman for putting the whole issue in perspective for both patient and carers/relatives. I guess we wouldn't be human if we weren't anxious to some extent but trying to manage that, can be a challenge. Sometimes I've had to wait weeks and even months for scan results so I try as best as I can to just get on with life in the meantime. A local lad and fantastic patient advocate for the Teenage Cancer Trust, the late Stephen Sutton taught me so much - he said 'I may have cancer but it doesn't have me'! I like the latest Macmillan campaign - 'my grandad/mate may have cancer but they're still my grandad/best mate'. In other words, try and make the most of every day and not waste them fretting about what might or might not happen…. Good luck x
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