Fear of Cancer Anyone?

[Regina1010]

Recently one of my highschool mates passed away due to uterine cancer and she was only 24 y/o. It was only three months from her diagnosis till she passed away. This really freaked me out and I am worrying that this will happen to me also. I'm so anxious that even a slight pain in my stomach I will relate to cancer and I think this is irrational but I just can't help myself. In April, I had an abdominal and a pelvic ultrasound, full blood test for a routine check up.. Everything is good but I'm still feeling very anxious about having cancer.

[orthagonal]

It'd be easier to ask who doesn't worry they have cancer around here.

I just had a polyp removed during a colonoscopy and the doc straight up told me it wasn't cancer and I had nothing to worry about, but I'm still like "what if he's wrong, what if he missed something, what if the little benign looking polyp the GI with 20 years of experience isn't concerned about is actually secretly stage IV colon cancer?" I know it's ridiculous, the string of probabilities that would lead to that worst outcome, I might as well be worried about getting struck by lightning. But catastrophic ideation is part of anxiety disorders so you just have to find what helps you get over it. I know my feelings aren't rational, but they sure do shout loud.

Also a really common cause of gastro pain is anxiety. I try (and frequently fail) to follow the idea "If it can be caused by anxiety, it is caused by anxiety." Haven't been wrong yet.

I've definitely been where you are. I once had a close friend my age just suddenly drop dead in her kitchen. No one knows why, just one of those freak things. It kicked my HA into overdrive for months. Eventually I made a couple of lifestyle changes that made me feel better about my health, like quitting smoking, and that helped me a lot. After awhile, you just come to terms with what happened to your friends and you stop worrying.

Finally, it would be almost impossible to get incurable cancer 2 months after you get a clean bill of health, unless someone dumped radioactive waste on you.

[nervousnelly52]

It's the big fear for me.

I'm going through a real rough patch right now, with lots of odd neurological symptoms like generalized fasiculations, tingling/warmth in my fingers and toes, a perceived loss of balance, some back pain, and a headache that has been on and off for the last month. I also have a mole right around where the symptoms are that looks fairly normal but is raised and is a little sore. It has been raised and a little sore for three years. So, of course, I'm terrified that it's melanoma.

I'm so very scared that I have cancer, even though I had a CT scan that showed only a small benign cyst. Now I am worried that a CT scan wasn't good enough and my foolish Dr should've ordered an MRI instead, or maybe it's in my spine and not my brain. I recognize that the fear I have is irrational, but I won't listen to myself. I really need to start taking some medication, but the wait times to see professionals are ridiculous around here.

[Regina1010]

Hi Orthagonal, thanks for your reply. I really like your idea of 'if it can be caused by anxiety, it is caused by anxiety. I guess I have to accept the fact that anxiety is playing a trick on me :)

---------- Post added at 12:19 ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 ----------

Hi nervousnelly52, I too have some neurological symptoms like yours!! Sometimes I get sharp and shooting pain that runs throughout my arms and leg. I also have pain just right under my fingernail. Hopefully they are all just caused by anxiety.

[Leah88]

Ironically your trigger is exactly what set off my own H.A a couple of years ago when a girl I went to school with passed away at 27 from uterine cancer. I had convinced myself I had it in my spine as that's how hers was diagnosed. Of course my unnecessary X-ray was clear. Point to my story - it's rare so you are unlikely to have it. We focus on these things because they are not the norm yet they are frightening.

[axolotl]

I really like your idea of 'if it can be caused by anxiety, it is caused by anxiety.

Me too, it's exactly the mantra I'm trying to do at the moment. Anxiety should always be our first port of call for the explanation when we have odd things, and any doctor's appointments we feel we need to make should be "just in cases". Easier said than done, I know, but we know we have an illness (anxiety), and if we get symptoms of that illness we shouldn't surprised or alarmed.