Lila Margulies, a Brooklyn, New York–based mother of two who was treated for metastatic lung cancer, has experienced this same anxiety firsthand. Throughout her journey, she found that using visualization techniques, positive thinking, and mantras can help manage negative thoughts and emotions. One particular type of distress that Margulies, among others, experienced is “scanxiety.” This is defined as scan-associated anxiety that can occur both before the scan and while waiting for the scan results, something that, according to the article in Cancer Medicine, has been linked to a significantly reduced quality of life. “Scanxiety is different from just getting bad news,” explains David Mendoza, NP, of the NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York City. “Scanxiety is more about the anxiety that you have waiting for the results of a scan. Oftentimes the period of waiting for the results can be more distressing than it is to actually get bad news.” Mendoza, who is keenly aware of the fear that someone experiencing scanxiety adds, “I tell patients to either make a follow-up appointment for the following day or as soon as possible to get the results of the scans [from their doctor].” This strategy has helped Margulies cope with scanxiety. “My doctor has always been really helpful about giving me any information,” she says. In fact, the first time she had a brain scan, Marqulies recalls being very nervous, and her doctor suggested she schedule an appointment that same day to review her results. “I didn’t have to spend the night thinking about it and worrying about it,” she says. Another way to prevent scanxiety from overwhelming your thoughts, says Mendoza, is to use relaxation techniques such as meditation, guided imagery, visualization, and deep breathing exercises. He also notes that positive thinking and creating a mantra, which you can repeat over and over in your head, can be useful tools. Margulies tried visualizations after having a scan. Hers goes something like this: “I’m waiting in the room to hear the results of the scan,” she says, “and my doctor is walking down the hall, and I imagine him with a smile on his face, saying, ‘The scan looks great.’” “That helps me feel better,” she says. As for a mantra, Margulies has landed on one that she’s found particularly useful. “My mantra is, ‘It’s possible that everything is going to be okay,’” she says. “To me, it holds more options — it might mean I have cancer for the rest of my life, but it’s also possible that everything will be okay within that context.” Accepting that duality of two seemingly opposing things existing at once has given Margulies a way to view things in a big-picture framework. “Right now, I feel good — and I have cancer,” she says. This interview took place in February 2019.
