Why is scan day so hard?

Because it is the day the situation could change, and the waiting between the scan and the result is its own particular kind of awful. It has a name among patients: scanxiety.

Ask how long the wait will be and who will call you, because an unknown wait is far worse than a known one. Some teams can book the scan and the result closer together if you ask.

Written by two physicians. Checked against patient information from the US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK.