Fear of throat cancer

[Hck80]

Does anyone else have this fear? I've had this feeling for over a year and always gets my anxiety really bad. I've been to Drs who has checked my throat, but sometimes it does take over. I do have silent reflux and occasionally take meds for that.

[Fishmanpa]

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you'll see related threads and a search will yield pages and pages of similar fears. Oral cancers are one of the more prevalent fears I see on the boards. In fact, it was a HA sufferer that posted on the Head and Neck cancer forums I was part on that brought me here in the first place. As a survivor of Stage IV Head and Neck cancer and a two time heart attack/triple bypass and stent survivor, I stuck around to try and help alleviate some of those fears and offer some grounded common sense responses to some of the fears that folks have.

As far as prevention? Obviously, don't smoke! If you're young, you may want to talk to your GP about the HPV vaccine. Generally, practicing safe sex is the best thing you can do in addition to that. There are a few strains of the virus that can be a factor in developing cancer. Otherwise, common sense healthy living is all you really can do :)

Positive thoughts

[damianjmcgrath]

Fishmanpa, when you actually had the actual illnesses, did you immediately know, or was it tough at first to know the difference between real symptoms and anxiety symptoms?

[lily1]

I don't have this fear but I know someone who had this and they are still here 15 years later!

Minimise risk by not smoking/drinking a lot of alcohol and the chances are slim that you will get it.

[Hck80]

Thanks for replies, I've never smoked and only drink on the odd occasion so I guess the odds are in my favour.
Silly how you get obsessed over differant health issues, be glad when this passes