Scanxiety

Live and cope with for a long time

For the coming years, I will have to do checkups every third month. For me, the checkup is either a Computed Tomography scan (CT-scan) or an ultrasound scan of my stomach and chest, plus blood tests and a meeting with my oncologist. 

This week I had my first checkup after finished treatment. The time just before the scan and while waiting for the results, is a time of worry and uneasiness. The question: Is the cancer back? keeps running through my head. This worry and tension has even got its own name: scanxiety. In my case, I will have to live with scanxiety for many years. 

It is a bit frustrating that I cannot influence if my cancer comes back or not. I wish my doctor would say "if you eat broccoli and run five kilometers a day, cancer will stay away", but that is unfortunately not the case. I can only hope that I am one of the lucky ones and try to live a happy and fulfilling life.

Celebration time

The outcome of my scan was excellent with no signs of new tumors! A very good reason to celebrate. First, I went to a café with a good friend and had a big piece of chocolate cake and in the evening my husband and I had a glass of champagne. Now I can relax and enjoy the time until the next scan.

Cancer research

I try to ignore the depressing statistics for my type of cancer as much as I can. I focus on the fact that I am alive, that life is to be enjoyed, that statistics are mainly numbers made out of patients older than I am, and that cancer research is making progress day by day. By the way, if you do not already support cancer research, contribute! 

In Sweden: Cancerfonden

In Switzerland: Krebsliga

In the UK: Cancer Research UK

One out of three persons will get a cancer diagnosis and the good news is that two out of three that are diagnosed will survive! This is mainly thanks to successful cancer research.