How to Deal with Cancer Scanxiety? Faith-Based Answers to One of Life's Biggest Stressors
What is scanxiety? This anxiety-filled stress response is commonly experienced before, during, and after scans, lab tests, or doctor's appointments. It is highly-driven by fear of the unknown and the "what if" thought spirals that anxiety is famous for causing. Worry about the scan results leads to fears about what the future will look like after the results come back, and then the mind is off to worst-case scenarios and you feel like you're spinning out of control.
This is no way to live! In this post, I'll help you better understand what's happening in your body, and give you practical, effective tools to calm you body, mind, and emotions...all with a Biblical, Christ-centered foundation.
Scanxiety doesn't just affect our thoughts about the future; it can deeply affect our emotional state and mood today. Being on edge constantly, quick to snap back at someone, feeling irritable, hopeless, scared beyond measure, and being unable to enjoy what's happening right now are common themes with scanxiety. Our emotional state is oftentimes driven by our state of mind, so getting our thoughts in a more helpful place is often a healthy place to start (more on that later).
Further, our thoughts and emotions can drive major physiological changes in our body. This is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Your nervous system is activated, or engaged in "fight-or-flight" at this point. Adrenaline and cortisol flood your body getting you ready to fight the threat or run away. Glucose is released into your blood stream to help your muscles gain access to the energy you'll need to fight or run.
As a result, you experience multiple physical symptoms similar to what the threat of a car accident feels like, as an example. Except the scanxiety threat isn't going away until you get good news after your scan. Being in a chronic state of panic-driven stress is not only uncomfortable, but it can drive inflammation in your body and negatively affect your immune system (which is already low). But there's a better way to respond, and I'll help you find relief.
Physical symptoms of "fight-or-flight" HPA axis nervous system response:
Breath-holding or rapid, shallow breathing
Racing heart
Sweating
Feeling hot or chilly
Dry mouth
Loss of appetite or stress eating
Shaking
Chest pain or tightness
Trouble sleeping
GI disturbances like diarrhea, heartburn, nausea
Step 1: Breathe in a Way that Signals Your Body to Calm Down
Out of the numerous physical symptoms listed above, your breathing is the only thing you can control. Cancer and scams can already feel so out of control, so taking back control of your breath can be a hugely helpful first step. You will want to breathe with proper technique, though, or you could perpetuate the panic symptoms. Here's how to breathe properly:
Place one hand on your chest and the other over your belly button
Close your eyes or focus on something near you
Breathe in through your nose to a slow count of four
Fill the bottom of your lungs; you should not feel your chest expanding until your lungs are full
Purse your lips and puff your cheeks while you do a slow exhale to a count of 7 (or until your lungs are empty)
Repeat until you start to feel calmer (usually 8-10 times)
Focus only on your breath
Bonus Tool: Boost results by adding in a visualization. Imagine that your scanxiety has a shape, color, texture, or other qualities to it that you can visualize in your mind's eye. Imagine on your exhale that you are breathing that out. With every breath you exhale, you can visualize it fading away, being handed to God, or floating away up into the sky. On your inhale, breathe in God's peace. His peace that passes all understanding. Give it light, shape, and color. Imagine His peace filling your lungs and being transported throughout your body by your heart, which is, by now, slowing down its frantic pace.
Remember this scripture in John 14:27 from our Lord & Savior - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Step 2: Get Your Thoughts in a More Helpful Place
Now that your body is calming down dramatically, you can take hold of your thoughts and refocus on what is true right now. Since our thought life can drag us into a pit of despair just as fast as a place of hopefulness, let's choose the latter. Cling to God's Word instead of your fear:
"We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield." (Psalm 33:20)
"Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God." (Psalm 146:5)
"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks Him..." (Lamentations 3:25)
"And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (Romans 5:5)
"He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us." (2 Corinthians 1:10)
Bonus Tool: Write down your favorite verses that are personally comforting and hope-filled. You can keep them on your phone in a note, write them on 3 x 5 cards that go with you everywhere, or have them ready in a journal notebook by your bedside. When we're in a state of scanxiety-induced panic, our minds "go offline" and can no longer soothe us with rational thoughts. Concentration and focus go down the drain, and our short-term memory can even be affected. By bringing scripture-based replacement thoughts into your mind, you can tackle scanxiety because you have an effective tool ready to go.
Remember this scripture from Philippians 4:6-9 ---> "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
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Kimberly B. Virrueta, MS, LMFT // Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #148148 (California)
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