View Full Version : New fear, cancer. Sarcoma to be exact.
So today I noticed the upper outer area of my left thigh is raised. Dont have it on my right thigh, it's not a bump, kinda hard to explain. Of course, I turned to Google. I found something called soft tissue sarcoma and I'm freaking the hell out. I don't know what it could be, don't even know how long it's been like that. Can tell it's raised from the side.
I want to see my doctor but scared he won't take me seriously and think I'm being stupid. Sarcoma is pretty rare and probably not the first thing doctors will think of. Only thing I found with someone going through the same thing, they were told to get checked out for sarcoma.
Finally got over my diabetes worry and this starts up...
Could it just be some extra fat? I have a raised area on my calf muscle and I feared exactly the same thing. Dr said it's extra fat tissue.
Maybe, hoping that is it. My husband can feel it, it's doesn't seem to be round. So, it's not a bump/lump, just a raised area. It's not hard, can't be moved around. I was looking up to see if it was muscle related, like a knot. Of course, sarcoma is what pops up instead.
I went to my doctor, he doesn't know what it could be. Just told me to come back in if it grows and/or becomes painful. I now worry I will be one of those people with sarcoma that gets brushed off or misdiagnosed. Seems pretty common with sarcoma because of its rarity and then it's too advanced when diagnosed. Going to the doctors didn't ease my fears at all. It feels kinda big already, feels bigger than 2 inches which I read is not a good sign. Can't really find anyone going through something similar.
New symptoms popped up. I noticed I have been losing weight without trying. My eating habits did not change, I'm also a stress eater. I lost over 5 pounds in about a week or 2. During stress eating, weight wouldn't budge. Now I can eat a crap ton of junk without gaining a single pound.
This has now put my panic into overdrive, I have been freaking out about sarcoma or some other cancer. My stomach has cramps and I'm burping a lot. Don't know if that is related.
Can anxeity itself cause weight loss? I know it can when someone eats less from it but my eating habits have not changed. I suffered anxiety for years and never had this issue. It may not seem like a lot lost but for me with stress eating and having pcos, losing weight like this isn't normal.
New symptoms popped up. I noticed I have been losing weight without trying. My eating habits did not change, I'm also a stress eater. I lost over 5 pounds in about a week or 2. During stress eating, weight wouldn't budge. Now I can eat a crap ton of junk without gaining a single pound.
This has now put my panic into overdrive, I have been freaking out about sarcoma or some other cancer. My stomach has cramps and I'm burping a lot. Don't know if that is related.
Can anxeity itself cause weight loss? I know it can when someone eats less from it but my eating habits have not changed. I suffered anxiety for years and never had this issue. It may not seem like a lot lost but for me with stress eating and having pcos, losing weight like this isn't normal.
I'm having the same exact problem. In the last couple weeks I've lost 7 lbs. It's completely freak-out me out because I have a swollen node in my neck. I purposely ate junk this week and nothing.
I'm having the same exact problem. In the last couple weeks I've lost 7 lbs. It's completely freak-out me out because I have a swollen node in my neck. I purposely ate junk this week and nothing.
I'm doing the same, only eating junk. Instant ramen noodles, chips, iced coffee drinks, corndogs and pastries. Anything with lots of carbs and calories, still can't gain any weight.
Yep, last night I went and ate fast food and even got a shake, same weight this morning. Normally I gain weight easily and struggle to get it off.
Yep, last night I went and ate fast food and even got a shake, same weight this morning. Normally I gain weight easily and struggle to get it off.
You are going to drive yourself crazy if you monitor your weight after every meal. We HA sufferers do a lot of things to prolong our hypochondriac responses to physical changes in our bodies, and eating then weighing is definitely one of those things.
It seems to me you walked out of your doctor's clinic without a satisfactory answer. Either go back and say you want a more definitive diagnosis than "I don't know what it is" or get a different opinion. Has it been there long?
I went through a sarcoma scare myself (and still have the lump a year later but it was determined nothing to worry about-- although I still do!!!) and I had read a lot of the misdiagnosis stories (and actually was misdiagnosed by the first doctor) and it is all really scary. The bottom line is, IF the lump has been there a long time and is not going down at all, then it is reasonable to get screening that can suggest what it might be, if it has concerning features, etc. With soft tissue, you will not want xrays (they do not show soft tissue), so the proper test could be MRI or CT, depending on area of the body (I needed a MRI).
Get informed information about the lump and try to put a stop to selfchecking behaviors, selfscanning behaviors that your brain wants to use to corroborate a cancer story. AT this point, you have no reason to believe it's cancer, that's just a story your brain is enjoying for some reason. Don't let your brain feed you a story based on no evidence; that's where a doctor comes in, and I think a doctor that shows a little more curiosity than yours showed. Then, after getting a more informed opinion about what the thickening is, it is your job to believe it if the verdict comes back no need to worry. G/L
You are going to drive yourself crazy if you monitor your weight after every meal. We HA sufferers do a lot of things to prolong our hypochondriac responses to physical changes in our bodies, and eating then weighing is definitely one of those things.
It seems to me you walked out of your doctor's clinic without a satisfactory answer. Either go back and say you want a more definitive diagnosis than "I don't know what it is" or get a different opinion. Has it been there long?
I went through a sarcoma scare myself (and still have the lump a year later but it was determined nothing to worry about-- although I still do!!!) and I had read a lot of the misdiagnosis stories (and actually was misdiagnosed by the first doctor) and it is all really scary. The bottom line is, IF the lump has been there a long time and is not going down at all, then it is reasonable to get screening that can suggest what it might be, if it has concerning features, etc. With soft tissue, you will not want xrays (they do not show soft tissue), so the proper test could be MRI or CT, depending on area of the body (I needed a MRI).
Get informed information about the lump and try to put a stop to selfchecking behaviors, selfscanning behaviors that your brain wants to use to corroborate a cancer story. AT this point, you have no reason to believe it's cancer, that's just a story your brain is enjoying for some reason. Don't let your brain feed you a story based on no evidence; that's where a doctor comes in, and I think a doctor that shows a little more curiosity than yours showed. Then, after getting a more informed opinion about what the thickening is, it is your job to believe it if the verdict comes back no need to worry. G/L
Dont know what I weigh now. I weighed myself in a different location and it was higher. Maybe something wrong with my scale, even moving it just a little can make my weight higher or lower. It's digital with new batteries, so I don't know what could be wrong.
I'm not sure how long I have had It, I don't know if it's been there and my anxiety is just focusing on it right now. I feel like I felt it there last year and didn't worry about it. My husband thinks it's muscle because it changes depending my leg position..
I looked into a few other doctors and they have a waiting list of 5+ weeks for new patients. Don't think no can wait that long mentally, I guess I go back to the other one. Don't like him that much but every time I had a good doctor, they retired or moved away.
Guess it wasn't the scale. Bought a new one and it's giving me a lower reading. I'm down more than yesterday....
Found another doctor. She said she couldn't feel anything and more than likely muscle. Told her even my husband could feel it, she wasn't worried. Wasn't worried about my weight loss, ordered another blood test which came back normal. She said if the area on my thigh gets bigger, to go get a ultrasound.
Still not feeling better, worried of being misdiagnosed. If it's cancer, will be advanced by the time I get diagnosed..
AMomentofClarity
10-04-18, 04:46
Guess it wasn't the scale. Bought a new one and it's giving me a lower reading. I'm down more than yesterday....
How much are you talking here? My weight can vary by ~5 lbs day to day depending on hydration, eating habits, alcohol consumption, etc. Was your doctor concerned about the weight loss?
How much are you talking here? My weight can vary by ~5 lbs day to day depending on hydration, eating habits, alcohol consumption, etc. Was your doctor concerned about the weight loss?
5 pounds at first, then I lost another 4 pounds. So, 9 pounds so far. I'm a stress eater, so I could lose weight when I stop but gain it all back when I stress eat again. Now, no matter how much junk I eat, I'm not gaining it back which is unusual for me.
Doctor wasn't worried.
It takes a net of 3500 extra calories to gain any weight when optimal body conditions are working right. When your body is stressed, as in anxious, it takes even more because the constant adrenaline dump raises the metabolic rate.
Your body weight can fluctuate five to seven pounds on a given day based on water weight alone. There are so many factors that go into body weight. The one thing I can assure you though, is cancer weight loss is significant, drastic and sudden. I had a friend who passed from cancer, and when he was healthy he was around 200 pounds. In the space of six months, when he was in bad shape, he was half that.
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