worried about lump on rib

[emmalj0]

Hi so iv had this lump since march 2013. Iv seen numerous people about removal, had an ultrasound november 2014 came back normal. It still worries me on a daily basis. I feel its now changed not perfectly round anymore bit craggy although my mum thinks this is all in my head.

i went bk gps fri after putting this off for weeks. He just said to me if was cancerous it would have changed which i feel it has but he examined said felt the same.

im really trying not to care but i cant. I worry what if after all this time it is cancer and drs are wrong. Im tired all the time because its all i can think about.

can anyone help me

thanks

[Gary A]

This is a mental problem, not a physical one. There are a few facts that I'm sure have been reiterated to you not only a lot of times on here, but also by a number of doctors. If you had a cancerous lump for over two years, not only would it have grown, it would also have spread, and by that I mean you'd be a very unwell person. The weight would be falling off of you, you'd be fatigued to the point you'd struggle to get out of bed, you'd be violently sick frequently.

There's just nothing else to say other than "this is not cancer." It is impossible to have a malignant mass that does not grow or change over such a lengthy period of time. That's what tumours do, they grow, they change, they spread and they take your everyday health with them. You have none of this happening, you have had an ultrasound, you have had it confirmed by a number of doctors that it's a benign lump. I honestly don't know what else anyone can say.

Let's be honest here, if none of these facts are enough to convince you then what makes you think removal would? You'd probably wind up thinking that a mistake had been made in the lab or something. I know it is health anxiety that's doing this to you but that's the point. It is health anxiety that's the problem here, not this lump.

There is simply no way this is cancer, I am 110% sure of it. Doctors can make mistakes, sure, but not a whole host of doctors, not an ultrasound scanner. Your lump would be going against everything medical science says about tumours. How likely do you think that is, honestly?

[emmalj0]

I know it sounds stupid but i now feel it doesnt feel perfectly round or smooth feels bit mis-shapen but then i think is it just me thinking that?

Believe me iv been tryin so hard not to seek advice from gp i keep putting it off as to b honest i dont feel any better when i go.

its horror stories i read about things being missed, ultrasounds not picking things up and thats what i focus on.

i hate worrying like this.

[Gary A]

You're thinking about it all wrong. You now do not need to rely on the ultrasound or the doctors word, you can very safely rely on the fact it hasn't changed or grown in over two years. I cannot reiterate enough that it is utterly IMPOSSIBLE to have a cancerous growth that doesn't do these things in that period of time. It goes against everything a malignant tumour is.

Look at it this way, how quickly did it appear? It must have grown pretty rapidly for you to just stumble across it like that. So, by your logic it has grown very quickly, then when you discovered it, for some reason it magically stopped growing? Again, I'm not trying to be cold here, I'm just trying to make you see how illogical your thought process is.

Tumours aren't magical stealth mutants, they are uncontrolled growths of cells. They don't grow rapidly then take a break for a smoke and a chat. They actually accelerate, they start growing quickly then grow faster and faster.

You need to stop reading these horror stories. Instances like that are rare, and I'll bet that very few, if any, were mistaken by numerous doctors over such a lengthy period of time.

[emmalj0]

Thanks gary