There’s a kind of anxiety that doesn’t always announce itself loudly. It doesn’t always look like panic or fear. Sometimes it looks like scrolling a little longer before bed. Or feeling your stomach tighten when an appointment reminder pops up….
Thyroid Cancer Survivorship and Scanxiety: When a Routine Ultrasound Triggers Survival Mode
There are moments in survivorship that quietly remind you healing is not a finish line, but rather a lifelong relationship with your body, your mind, and your history. Recently, I went for my annual thyroid ultrasound. A test that, for…
From Diagnosis to Advocacy: How Thyroid Cancer Transformed My Life
It’s been years since I sat in a doctor’s office and heard the words that changed everything: “You have cancer.” I don’t consciously replay that moment often, but the impact of that day lingers in my life—woven into my routine,…
How I Took Charge of My Health During Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and my late grandmother was a two-time breast cancer survivor, I thought this was a good opportunity to remind everyone to make their yearly appointments to check their breast health. Last week, I…
How I Combat Scanxiety as a Thyroid Cancer Survivor
One of the things that’s always on my agenda at the start of a new year is to go for my yearly neck ultrasound. In some ways, doing a difficult task at the beginning of the year is like ripping…
The February Agenda
Well, if January felt like it was 4,654,576 days long to you, you’re not alone. To me, January has always felt like the longest month ever and one that I celebrate when it comes to a close. February is when…
Reflections During Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month
September marks the start of many things. The first day of school, the emergence of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and a 30-day period devoted to thyroid cancer awareness. While almost anyone will tell you that awareness months have no expiration date…
Scanxiety 2.0
A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about scanxiety. It was, and still is, one of my best-performing posts. I attribute this to the fact that whether or not someone is a cancer survivor, we’ve all experienced a…
The Six-Month Follow-Up
It’s funny how time can feel longer or shorter than it actually is. Take for example, doctor’s appointments. We tend to make them so far in advance, and then they disappear from our minds. Or, we totally forget to make…
How I Cope with Scanxiety as a Cancer Survivor
It seems appropriate that my yearly neck ultrasound and six-month appointment with my endocrinologist occurs in January (and always on the 17th, no less), which not only marks the start of a new year but is also Thyroid Disease Awareness…
Struggling with Scanxiety? 5 Ways to Cope with Upcoming Scans
Scanxiety…the very real (and often times, terrifying) feeling a cancer patient or survivor has when an upcoming scan is approaching. Perhaps you’ve experienced your own version of scanxiety when your doctor sends you for blood work or some other test….
