testing during remission

This blog is already saturated with information about the testing programs during diagnosis, post-surgery, and chemotherapy periods – so I’ll do my best to keep this one relatively brief.

As you may know – remission is the state of being cancer-free, but not yet being considered cured of cancer. Being cured means making it to 5 years cancer free without a relapse. During those 5 years, there is an active monitoring period with regular testing. The tests are carried out every 3 months to start, with some tests (like blood) being a part of every check-up and others (like CT scans or ultrasounds) being less frequent. Some of the tests are required to ensure the body is still cancer-free, while others are conducted in order to monitor the after-effects of the chemo. After the first two years, the tests become less frequent.

The tests of course induce anxiety. I’ve started to get used to the rhythm now, which looks something like… (1) 2-3 weeks out from a quarterly check-up, the low-level apprehension starts to set-in. During those 2-3 weeks, every little niggle feels like something more sinister, and your mind starts to wander or occasionally panic. (2) in the days immediately preceding the check-up, I tend to calm down. Something about the close proximity to the result and knowing there’s literally nothing in my control, somehow helps. (3) of course, the hours / days waiting for the results are not fun, but I’ve learned to stop checking my email or phone so often for the results, instead having rules around when I can check-in. Actually, at the time of writing, the hospital used a different communications strategy which may have helped – they put an appointment with the doctor a few days after the testing to review results, and we agreed they would only call me in case there was an urgent / concerning result. Which had the opposite effect – I didn’t want to get an email / call. Maybe an alternative strategy others could consider. (4) after getting the good news, another 2.5 months or so of breathing easy knowing cancer probably won’t interrupt our life during that time. It somehow forces you to take things more day-by-day – or at least, quarter-by-quarter 😉

As of the latest update, I’m 4 quarterly check-ups in, and still all clear!!! Thankfully, as time passes, so does the likelihood of a relapse; so we’re hoping the probabilities continue to work in my favor.