Esophageal/Stomach Cancer :/

[tlanott]

Hi All,

This is my first post here, and I often come here when I need to calm myself down. I definitely suffer from health anxiety, and have convinced myself I have had multiple cancers/other diseases throughout my life.

My newest fear is now that I have either esophageal or stomach cancer. I am 19 years old, don't smoke, and have drank socially for about a year a half. I know that my young age probably works in my favor, but I can't help but still worry. About two months ago, I seemingly scratched my esophagus when eating a hamburger that had a bone in it, and for the next week I had a pretty sharp pain in the same spot in my chest when I swallowed anything - water or food. I took some pain killers which helped with the pain, and the pain got better throughout the week until it was totally gone, and I was good for about 2 more weeks.

However, the pain returned for about 2-3 days, and I turned to google and of course the two cancers showed up and my worry went through the roof. Since then, I have obsessively paid attention to how I feel when I swallow. I feel some pain when I swallow now, and I also began to deal with a ton of excess gas, I also began to feel very full/naseaus after eating.

I recently went to my doctor and told her my fears and my symptoms. She basically told me she had never seen someone my age with esophagus cancer, and didn't even bring up stomach cancer after I mentioned it. She pushed on my stomach in multiple spots (checking for what I don't know), and then basically said that there is nothing that points to cancer and that she thinks I have acid reflux and wrote down the name of some over the counter meds I can take for esophagus pain/stomach acid problems.

Since this visit, my indigestion has been improving, as has my anxiety level. However, I still do get pain when I eat some foods, for example I just ate some chicken/beef quesadilla and definitely had some pain when swallowing. Sometimes I also feel like food gets stuck in my chest as well. I have never choked on or thrown up my food however. Basically I am still worried I may have esophagus cancer. I was hoping my doctor would bring up the possibility of an endoscopy to fully put my mind at ease, but she clearly didn't think it was needed as she never even mentioned it.

Anyways, sorry for such a long post, I really can't talk to my college friends about this which makes me feel worse, so just typing this out made me feel a little better.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

[Super_Freaked]

You probably don't have cancer and if you get it someday you will be quite old. By the time you get Cancer if you ever do you will probably not fear it as much as you will be older and more brave than you can imagine.

In the meantime you don't have cancer what you have is health anxiety. It's probably better to have anxiety although i have seen some pretty positive and constructive people with cancer, the kind less concered with their own health and instead thinking more of other people.

Maybe you should go help out some people with cancer, it would help you get your mind off yourself and starting to think of other people more, and also you will notice you don't want cancer, you don't want to think you have cancer you only have cancer when you actually have cancer and a doctor says, you have cancer, in the meantime try to ignore strange sensations in your body and if you can't it still isn't cancer. there is millions of other things to have other than cancer, it's usually not cancer, and people feel shitty for months or years before it's cancer or they don't feel anything.

You prob stress yourself out to much, have acid reflux type symptoms from student food.. there is a million reasons you don't have cancer, stop googling things and if your going to worry about something worry about why your worried about having cancer at such a young age with only normal strange feeling we all get, when it's kind of so unlikely.. start to worry about you anxiety problems, those are actually real and impacting ou.

[Dontworrybaby]

I just found your post as I'm also worried about this.
In the uk nobody in your age group was diagnosed in 2015 and the crude rate per 100,000 population is 0
i can't post the link but it's on the cancer research website in age incidence statistics

Hope this helps
Take care

[tlanott]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

[Sam Winter]

If your throat does not improve you can demand an endoscopy to find out if its bad reflux or maybe just a scarred throat ect, but I really don't believe you have throat cancer especially at your age, if the doctor says its fine its fine obviously if you're still worried about it months down the line you can get checked for your own piece of mind but I wouldn't rush for one if its not completely needed because they ain't fun lol you'll be fine I'm sure of it x

[Kay8010]

I had a sore throat for months in end, i am 36, convinced i had stomach and throat cancer, had a laryngoscopy and endoscopy and nothing was found, i was diagnosed with severe globus (feeling of something stuck in the throat)

[tlanott]

Appreciate both your replies. Honestly I was doing much better, my indigestion was basically cured and swallowing basically felt fine for a week after I saw my doctor. But of course, I am now worrying about it again. It basically feels like I have a lump at the back of my throat/that food is getting stuck right above my stomach/in my lower esophagus. Going to the campus doctor tomorrow to try and rest my worries again...boy do I hate my anxiety.