Coping With 'Scanxiety': Within-Person Processes in Lung Cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Psychology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Lung cancer patients undergo regular CT scans for monitoring after curative treatment.
• This monitoring process often induces significant anxiety, termed 'scanxiety'.
• Understanding the temporal dynamics of coping and anxiety before scans is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine within-person fluctuations in coping strategies and scan-related anxiety before CT scans.
• To investigate the relationship between monthly and daily coping mechanisms and scanxiety.
• To identify specific coping behaviors that influence anxiety levels in lung cancer patients.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach combining monthly surveys and a daily diary study over 7 days prior to CT scans.
• 25 early-stage lung cancer patients provided data on proactive coping, anticipatory coping, and scan-related anxiety.
• Multilevel modeling was used to analyze 59 monthly and 146 daily survey responses.

Main Results:

• Significant associations were found between monthly proactive coping and monthly scan-related anxiety.
• Daily anticipatory coping, specifically outcome fantasy and stagnant deliberation, correlated with daily scan-related anxiety.
• Increased problem analysis on scan-days was linked to higher scan-related anxiety.

Conclusions:

• This study is the first to detail the fluctuation of coping and scanxiety in the lead-up to CT scans.
• Focusing on present-moment coping may be more effective in mitigating scanxiety than future-oriented thinking.
• Future interventions should aim to reduce scanxiety in lung cancer patients by promoting present-focused coping strategies.