stomach cancer? terrified

[susie1]

Hi
I am 56 and lived with HA for 30 years. I am currently terrified that I have stomach cancer.
the last 2 days I have felt really nauseas without being sick. I also have a burning pain high up in my stomach, slightly to the left. back in April I had a slightly raised liver enzymes. I had to have repeated blood tests and it went up and down. I had an ultrasound of my liver / pancreas/ spleen. they found a slightly fatty liver that they were not overly concerned about. I no longer have to have blood test every month ( I think they got fed up with the panic I went into every time it was raised)
Now the nausea and pain. I have also started getting heart burn on and off over the last 4 months. Isn't this how stomach cancer starts? I am petrified and am struggling to put one foot in front of the other. I have also been extremely tire - not just a little bit - but enough o make me want to sleep. I have tries to put this down to the menopause as I have very low too and am struggling with a lack of oestrogen ( I came off HRT 6 months ago because I had been on it for 5 years and I was terrified of the cancer link)
I am sorry to be waffling so long but can anybody hep? please?

---------- Post added at 12:22 ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 ----------

Anybody?

[Fishmanpa]

I just have a question. In the three years you've been a member, have any of your fears become reality?

Positive thoughts

[susie1]

HI
I know. No they haven't. Well there have been things wrong but not what I've feared. How do I stop the 'but this time it's different'. I sound pathetic. Even to me but the fear is so so real

[Fishmanpa]

How do I stop the 'but this time it's different'.

Real life professional help and a lot of hard work.

Positive thoughts

[susie1]

I have had 3 long sessions of CBT and know the theory. They helped a lot but when a 'big' fear comes along I can't put it into practise. I have a first grandchild due in Jan. I should be excited but I can't believe I am going to be well and healthy to help. To be quite honest everything seems pretty bleak at the moment. I'm not sure my husband can take much more of it. he has a stressful job and has put up with this for far too long

[Murdock]

Me thinking I had stomach cancer at 20 was what triggered my HA, and it’s an ongoing issue 10 years later. I have all the symptoms you mention and I just have acid reflux. Stress makes it way worse. I manage it fairly effectively using anti-acids but at times of high stress I get really sick. When I was first diagnosed I’d spent close to 2 months doing nothing but throwing up several times a morning, lost loads of weight, convinced it must be something serious, but it was all down to anxiety. Out of interest have you been tested for H pylori? infection?

[susie1]

Hi
Thankyou for replying. I really appreciate it.No I haven't been tested for that. I do have long standing IBS which flares up, usually just after periods of high stress but ususally stomach ache low down or diarrhoea . It is because this is high up in the centre and slightly to the left that I am so scared. It feels like my stomach is burning and I get constant gurgles and heat in my throat. I suddenly felt nauseas out of the blue yesterday afternoon and it hasn't left me. Last night I ate my tea but it felt like it didn't actually go down properly. Now I am convinced I have a tumour that is blocking my upper stomach. I have had heartburn on and off for the last 3/4 monthsTo make matterf worse I have a tenderness in my calf - no redness or swollen tissue - but am concerned it is a DVT which I think has a link with stomach cancer. I am in such a state and can't see that it can't be cancer. I don't know what to do.

[Murdock]

Sorry to hear you’re struggling. Everything you describe does sound like GERD especially as it’s been going on for so long. Have you tired some gaviscon? Mine is worse in the mornings as the acid sits on my stomach so try sitting propt up a little to see if this makes a difference. Small meals often too, gives the acid something to work on without overfilling you and making the reflux worse.

[susie1]

Did you really have this too? same symptoms an was it all day sometimes?

[Murdock]

Yup. When I was 20 I literally went 2 months with constant symptoms but I was vomiting too. It would ease off in the evenings and that was pretty much the only time I could eat a meal. I lost loads of weight but even then my GP was never overly concerned. Eventually they did send me for an endoscopy, but by this point I’d gotten my symptoms under control. Endoscopy found nothing, and the gastro put it down to stress and just something I’d have to manage. I still get the heartburn if I forget to take my meds or when I’m stressed. Also at Christmas because of all the over eating :D PM me if you need to talk. I know how it feels and how real it probably seems.

[Jason74]

Did you really have this too? same symptoms an was it all day sometimes?

I've had all of these symptoms too, and it was reflux (sadly , it's what got me on this whole anxiety treadmill but that's another story altogether). To get to the bottom of things, I'd head to your GP and insist on an endoscopy. It's what I had and it confirmed that my problem was reflux caused by a hiatus hernia. While nobody here can say 100% what is happening, statistically the most likely scenario is that you have something similar, and getting it checked out will hopefully confirm that.

[girlrock]

I am going through the stomach cancer fear right now also. I went to the gastro on Friday and he thinks it’s just reflux and it isn’t stomach cancer. I’ve been suffering for two months. I am going for the abdominal ultrasound and endoscopy (my fourth one ��) just to be sure.