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  • Routine cancer scans: Do they bring peace of mind or more stress?
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Living with cancer

Routine cancer scans: Do they bring peace of mind or more stress?

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avatar Somya.P

Somya.P

Community manager
02/07/2025 at 17:00

Good advisor

avatar Somya.P

Somya.P

Community manager

Last activity on 22/07/2025 at 20:34

Joined in 2023


660 comments posted | 10 in the Living with cancer group

52 of their responses were helpful to members


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Hi everyone,

After finishing treatment for cancer, many people are monitored with scans or blood tests, often every few months, for years. These routine check-ups are meant to detect a recurrence as early as possible. But a new perspective published in The New England Journal of Medicine questions whether this kind of surveillance actually helps people live longer… or if it may sometimes do more harm than good.

Some patients say the tests give them a sense of safety. Others describe “scanxiety,” financial stress, or confusion about whether more testing really changes outcomes.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, it may depend on the cancer type, personal risk factors, and access to treatment. Still, this raises important questions about informed choices and quality of life after treatment.

👉 What’s been your experience with follow-up care after cancer?

👉 Do regular scans or blood tests make you feel more reassured, or more anxious?

👉 Have your doctors explained the risks vs. benefits of surveillance testing?

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We’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you’ve been through this yourself or supported someone who has.

Take care,

Somya from the Carenity team 🌼

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avatar YorkshireJayne

YorkshireJayne

04/07/2025 at 06:27

Good advisor

avatar YorkshireJayne

YorkshireJayne

Last activity on 21/07/2025 at 07:15

Joined in 2021


131 comments posted | 13 in the Living with cancer group

34 of their responses were helpful to members


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My own cancer is four years in (probably longer but only discovered by accident) and I haven't had any treatment yet, but I fear that it is around the corner while I await my latest scan.

I haven't had a scan since 2023, when I changed hospitals due to lack of care at the one I was diagnosed in. At that scan, my non-hodgkin follicular lymphoma was reduced so much that the haematologist told me, "If this was just a routine scan, for something other than NHL, I would say there was nothing to see!" and I was elated.

I am awaiting my latest scan, ordered because my symptoms have changed, so I'm feeling nervous about hearing that I will now need treatment. But normally they don't bother me and they';re not done as routine, just when things change for me symptom-wise. It's the waiting for the results that really bothers me and that can be up to a month before I'm seen!

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Life is for living, do it, no matter what!


Routine cancer scans: Do they bring peace of mind or more stress? https://www.carenity.co.uk/forum/other-discussions/living-with-cancer/routine-cancer-scans-do-they-bring-peace-of-mind-or-more-stress-5745 2025-07-04 06:27:17

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