Waiting for my CT Scan results isn’t fun.

CessnaFlyer

Had a CT Scan today, which is my first since June, 2009. I’m stage 2A and this is like waiting for the other shoe to drop. How do you people stay calm when you know the results of a CT Scan can shatter you lives, if the results show that the cancer has spread to the liver or other organs?

AnneCan

Who stays calm? I'd like to
Who stays calm? I'd like to know their secrets too! Scans are stressful, but try to focus on positive reports coming your way. Good luck!

Aud

yes...
...it is difficult to stay calm sometimes. I found that wonderful denial works best with me. Since feeling anxious will not change whatever the results are, I chose to give very little thought to the unknown results until I actually saw my surgeon. I've had my first PET scan a couple weeks ago and an appointment with my surgeon 1 week after that. I told myself that I'm not going to dwell on it UNTIL I'm actually sitting in my surgeon's office. I'm not sure...I think it may have worked although I was acting a little whacky with my boyfriend the weekend (after the scan) before my appointment with my surgeon! Even at my surgeon's office, I tried distracting myself with a book, but by that time, it didn't work very well. I had anxiety, did some deep breathing and figured I'll deal with it as it comes, when I talk with my doctor.
My first PET scan came back clear, and when I stepped outside, I felt the world open up...like an antithesis to the swirl of anxiety when I was first diagnosed.

Here's my advice:
Know that the results of the scan are there and there's nothing you can do about that. (yes, the results of a scan can "shatter your life," or it can give you tremendous relief, or it can send you into another direction of treatment....it's pointless to guess. It's just not helping you right now.)
Acknowledge the fact that you're going to speak with your doctor soon enough, but not now, not today, and there are other things you'd like to spend your time doing.
Choose to do other things that you do have control over. Something fun, hopefully. Even the necessary drudgery of whatever...
Choose to save all of your worrying, all of your anxiety only for the short time that you visit with your doctor. (If you worry/fret now, it does nothing to add quality to your life TODAY. It does nothing in terms of treatment.)

With that being said, yes, easier said than done. And I will be holding you in the Light for good results on your scan, less anxiety today/tonight.
Hoping for all that is good.
Aud

maglets

Aud said:

yes...
...it is difficult to stay calm sometimes. I found that wonderful denial works best with me. Since feeling anxious will not change whatever the results are, I chose to give very little thought to the unknown results until I actually saw my surgeon. I've had my first PET scan a couple weeks ago and an appointment with my surgeon 1 week after that. I told myself that I'm not going to dwell on it UNTIL I'm actually sitting in my surgeon's office. I'm not sure...I think it may have worked although I was acting a little whacky with my boyfriend the weekend (after the scan) before my appointment with my surgeon! Even at my surgeon's office, I tried distracting myself with a book, but by that time, it didn't work very well. I had anxiety, did some deep breathing and figured I'll deal with it as it comes, when I talk with my doctor.
My first PET scan came back clear, and when I stepped outside, I felt the world open up...like an antithesis to the swirl of anxiety when I was first diagnosed.

Here's my advice:
Know that the results of the scan are there and there's nothing you can do about that. (yes, the results of a scan can "shatter your life," or it can give you tremendous relief, or it can send you into another direction of treatment....it's pointless to guess. It's just not helping you right now.)
Acknowledge the fact that you're going to speak with your doctor soon enough, but not now, not today, and there are other things you'd like to spend your time doing.
Choose to do other things that you do have control over. Something fun, hopefully. Even the necessary drudgery of whatever...
Choose to save all of your worrying, all of your anxiety only for the short time that you visit with your doctor. (If you worry/fret now, it does nothing to add quality to your life TODAY. It does nothing in terms of treatment.)

With that being said, yes, easier said than done. And I will be holding you in the Light for good results on your scan, less anxiety today/tonight.
Hoping for all that is good.
Aud

calm
calm??? waiting for results???? tehehe...I have never achieved that zen state....it's 5 years for me and tests every 3 months and it doesn't get any easier or more calm

hugs

mags

dianetavegia

I have a CEA tomorrow and a
I have a CEA tomorrow and a CT scan in the next few weeks, my first since just after surgery. Calm? Sometimes but then when I sleep......... all those fears come out like boogey men!

impactzone

scanxiety,,, sucks
It is tough

mom_2_3

Thinking of you
Thinking of you and hoping that you have nothing but good news from your scan.

All the best,
Amy

Lovekitties

Waiting is tough
It seems like we are constantly waiting on something...results from tests, to start a treatment, to have surgery, etc. At every point it can be nerve racking if we let it. Yes, less than stellar results from any of these things can put another fork in the road for us to determine how we will travel forward. The life shattering news for me was 'you have Cancer', the rest is a matter of meeting every challenge and making the best decision I can for whatever remains of my life.

You can't stop worrying, but you can stop worrying so much. Give yourself permission to have your concerns, but then say 'ok, now I will get on with the rest of my day'.

Is it easy? He_ _ no it isn't, but you can do it!

Here's hoping that your scan is clear.

To better days and better health

Marie

RickMurtagh

word
Well Grasshopper to remain calm you must think of cancer as a lotus flower, plucked from the plant, deprived of water only to wither and die, die, die! Then peace will come over you like a Cessna crashing through your roof, all at once and sudden like.