help for a friend, mouth cancer worry

[luckylas]

My friend has suffered with health anxiety for a very long time has diagnosed herself with various forms of cancer but she manages to get through it and break the habit. But this is the worst I've seen her and I want to help but don't know how, I do feel at my witts end with her, having suffered with health anxiety I understand what she's going through. She thinks she has mouth cancer has found a tiny bump on the roof of her mouth has been to a private consultant, a few dentist's and doctor's today and she still does not believe it's nothing (health anxiety trait) it's been 12 weeks and she has put a compass to her mouth to scrape it away it healed very well considering what damage she caused, I've looked at it and it is minute skin colour bump and that's it but she still thinks it something, no biopsy has been taken as the time she went was when she scraped it but dentist has viewed when it was normal and said nothing to worry about. I'm looking for advice, possibly reassurance etc that I can pass onto her she's been to a counsellor doctor wants her to go to psychiatrist I'm not sure if she's accepted as she thinks cancer she's not even high risk she's 39 non smoker terribly healthy the odds just don't match......Sorry so long just want to help my friend.

[Fishmanpa]

I'm sorry to hear your friend is in such a spiral. Sadly, I see so much of that here. Reassurance, even from an oral cancer survivor such as myself often does little to quell the worry and fear and what could a forum of strangers say that holds more weight than several medical professionals?

What did you do to help overcome your HA? Perhaps you can share some of your experience. The way forward IMO is professional real life help in the form of therapy and support from friends like yourself. Encourage her to see the psychiatrist! :)

Positive thoughts

[luckylas]

Thanks for your reply :) my HA still lingers but nowhere as near as bad, but strangely a bone cancer scare resolved my heavy worry, I actually dealt with it very well finding what was a benign tumour by accident somethin real made me put things into perspective I guess

I still worry of course but not on a severe level, I've known my friend for 25 years and she knows how I kind of resolved mine. your right though I think if my friend was here now reading this knowing your a survior she'd be demanding all sorts of questions lol .

I will encourage psychiatrist, I just hate seeing my friend like this and I know in months or however long it takes she'll look back and think what did I put myself through that for.

Thank you