"You Always Worry": Scan-Related Anxiety Among Patients With Metastatic Lung Cancer

Routine cancer scans (eg, CT, MRI) produce important prognostic information. However, patients may experience distressing "scanxiety" around the time of scans and scan result discussions. The aim of this study was to describe scanxiety and factors affecting it among patients with metastatic lung cancer completing disease-monitoring, postdiagnosis scans.

After a clinical appointment to discuss routine disease-monitoring scans, participants with metastatic lung cancer who were receiving first-line treatment (n = 9) completed semistructured interviews. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis.

Qualitative analysis revealed that some patients experienced anxiety and other negative emotions around their scans, whereas others did not; patients self-managed anxiety using diverse coping strategies and by seeking out support. Participants described clinician- and clinic-based factors influencing scanxiety, including scheduling and procedural logistics, knowing what to expect, rapport with clinicians, and results delivery methods.

Despite the small sample, these findings suggest some, but not all, patients with metastatic lung cancer may benefit from psychosocial support while awaiting scan results and provide insight into patient-, clinician-, and clinic-level factors that may be targeted to reduce scanxiety.