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Archives for May 2022

Scanxiety

May 23, 2022 by Maggie Cameron

What is scanxiety?

Scanxiety describes the apprehension felt by people with cancer as they wait for their next scan. It’s a form of anticipatory anxiety. Scans are like emotional roulette. You’re trying really hard not to worry about the unknown, but your body has other plans.

Recognizing the Signs of Scanxiety

Symptoms of scanxiety vary from person to person. Here are a few things you might be experiencing.

  • increased heart rate
  • trouble sleeping
  • tension and irritability
  • stomach pain/nausea/appetite loss
  • sweating
  • difficulty concentrating
  • trouble regulating emotions and/or mood
  • emotional numbness
  • jumpiness or restlessness
  • racing thoughts and panic

Symptoms range from mild to intense and can be invasive to your daily life. You just don’t feel like yourself and normal activities become cumbersome and trying. It becomes hard to make decisions until after your scans have passed.

Life feels like it’s on hold.

What can you do to manage scanxiety?

Most importantly, know that your feelings are valid, and you are not alone. These feelings are very typical for people dealing with a difficult diagnosis. To cope with your scanxiety, you’ll need to recognize your symptoms, and make a plan.

Make note of the symptoms that you typically feel and the go-to coping strategies that work for you. Keep your plan handy for when scanxiety creeps in.

Three Strategies for Coping with Scanxiety

  1. Mindfulness is about accepting what is, accepting that unpleasant feelings are happening, and riding it out with as little judgment of whether those feelings are right or wrong, or whether or not you should be feeling them. They are happening. Period.
  2. Contact Your Support People. Reach out to family and friends that ground you and provide steady, calm advice in times of worry. Some patients may prefer support groups or professional counselors.
  3. Relax with Intention. Breathwork, meditation, massage, yoga or light exercise, journaling, reading, listening to a book, or focusing on a hobby are all ways to use relaxation to cope with scanxiety.

While the symptoms and coping techniques vary from person to person, patients with a serious diagnosis almost inevitably feel anxiety surrounding their condition. It’s important to plan for when this happens. We can’t prevent all scanxiety, but we can mindfully confront it. A little plan can help in a big way!

Filed Under: For Patients

Carmela Valdivieso

May 16, 2022 by The EHE Foundation

What do you want others to know about EHE?

“Getting to know other cases through the EHE Foundation, I realized that, even though all cases are very different, uncertainty is something we all share. I have my hopes on the community built around EHE, where I no longer feel alone and trust that there will soon be a cure. I try to live my life one day at a time. My daughters give me the strength I need to feel that there is much more life ahead of me. I would like to say to all of you: don’t be passive patients. Be active protagonists in the search for sympathetic doctors who make you feel confident and sure that they will be able to control, improve and overcome this disease. And to remind you that the EHE Foundation will support you always. You are not alone anymore.”

~ Carmela Valdivieso

Filed Under: Faces of EHE

Linda Beaulieu

May 13, 2022 by The EHE Foundation

What do you want others to know about EHE?

“EHE changed how I see life. I received the diagnosis of EHE one year ago, lung removed and a heart bypass. It was gone! But then it returned this Christmas on my trachea. I am now on medication and hoping that the next scan will be stable. It is difficult, and I have had many ‘why me’ moments, but it has also changed me. I now appreciate every day, people and every opportunity even more. I am trying to not let it consume and define me. I truly live by the motto ‘Just live’.The picture is me in a t-shirt I had made for the Garth Brooks concert I am going to this month. The song ‘The Dance’ is about living life.”

~ Linda Beaulieu

Filed Under: Faces of EHE

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