Hi Lewis,

Sorry to read about your situation.

Your wife’s fears may turn out to be correct but at the moment she hasn’t been diagnosed. 

I’m not a doctor (or a woman come to that) but I do know that having cancer symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean someone has cancer. Other conditions have almost identical symptoms and the understandable anxiety combined with Google leads almost everyone to jump to the worst conclusion.

Frustratingly, all you can really do is wait for a diagnosis which tells you both what the problem is and take it from there.

The most natural thing to do is to reassure her that everything will be alright but this would probably trigger resentment, especially if it turns out she does have a serious condition. 

Try to steer her towards reputable sites like CRUK, NHS and MacMillan as there is a lot of out of date, incorrect and false information on the net about cancer and supposed cures.

So far as the scan is concerned, she should receive a letter telling her what to expect on the day. It would be worth asking how long the results will take and who will be giving them to you and where. Best practice is to give results face to face whether the news is good or bad - so don’t be alarmed if Becky gets a follow up appointment with an oncologist. So many people panic at that point and wrongly assume that the news must be bad.

Good luck with the scan and results.

Dave