Scans + Anxiety = Scanxiety

Despite being a psychologist, it took me three rounds of chemotherapy to address my scanxiety, a heightened fear of cancer scan results. Anxiety is a natural emotion essential for survival, triggered by threats. In cancer diagnoses, the fear response can be particularly acute, often leading to long-lasting anxiety. In this article, I explore how scanxiety, fear of both scans and their results, is a form of specific phobia and share strategies for managing it.