lamentinglaura
06-10-09, 15:33
Sorry for the length of this post. I just need to get all of this off my chest. Two years ago I was experiencing soreness in my right lung off and on and it began to really scare me. I was 42 and had been smoking since my teens. Anyway, last summer my HA really flared up so I had a chest x-ray done as well as a mammogram because I was sure I had cancer. Both came out clear. I was relieved for a brief period of time but then last winter I was worked up again worrying about the soreness in my right lung (no, it's not indigestion, the pain is on the side below the armpit area) so I complained to my doctor and she ordered a CT scan. It came back clear.
Fast forward to this summer. I began experiencing pain in my upper right arm when I did specific movements like reaching into the backseat of my car, reaching over to grab something, leaning on my elbow to turn myself over in bed. I went to a physiotherapist who thought it was just a strain and started therapy on me. It wasn't getting better so she sent a letter to my doctor and said that I should be seen by an orthopedist. My doctor thinks I have tendonitis but she sent a referral to an orthopedist. I waited for a while and didn't hear anything from his office so I called and was told I couldn't see the doctor for a year! I'm from Canada and this is the standard length of time it takes to get into see an orthopedic guy if it's not an emergency. Meanwhile my arm is getting worse. The pain can be excruciating and radiates from my upper arm down to my fingers. It used to just happen during specific movements. Now my arm is sore on and off all day. I had an x-ray of my arm but nothing showed up.
I went back to my doctor and was told that tendonitis can take months to heal. On top of this I'm still having soreness in my right lung so I complained to my doctor and asked for a chest x-ray. I'm going to have it done on the 14th of this month along with a mammogram. I googled my symptoms and came up with something called a Pancoast Tumor which comes from lung cancer and causes arm symptoms like I'm experiencing. I went into near hysteria after reading that. I now have myself convinced that I have advanced lung cancer and I don't have long to live. I can't concentrate and I'm filled with fear every minute of the day. I can't sleep at night. I want to get this chest x-ray done and yet I'm terrified of having it done. I don't know how I'm going to cope until the 14th when I get it done plus have to wait for the results. My husband doesn't even want to talk to me about this because he's sick of hearing about all my complaints and fears. I really need some reassurance right now and someone to calm me down. How do I cope with all of this? Thanks for listening. I know this is a long ramble.
Fast forward to this summer. I began experiencing pain in my upper right arm when I did specific movements like reaching into the backseat of my car, reaching over to grab something, leaning on my elbow to turn myself over in bed. I went to a physiotherapist who thought it was just a strain and started therapy on me. It wasn't getting better so she sent a letter to my doctor and said that I should be seen by an orthopedist. My doctor thinks I have tendonitis but she sent a referral to an orthopedist. I waited for a while and didn't hear anything from his office so I called and was told I couldn't see the doctor for a year! I'm from Canada and this is the standard length of time it takes to get into see an orthopedic guy if it's not an emergency. Meanwhile my arm is getting worse. The pain can be excruciating and radiates from my upper arm down to my fingers. It used to just happen during specific movements. Now my arm is sore on and off all day. I had an x-ray of my arm but nothing showed up.
I went back to my doctor and was told that tendonitis can take months to heal. On top of this I'm still having soreness in my right lung so I complained to my doctor and asked for a chest x-ray. I'm going to have it done on the 14th of this month along with a mammogram. I googled my symptoms and came up with something called a Pancoast Tumor which comes from lung cancer and causes arm symptoms like I'm experiencing. I went into near hysteria after reading that. I now have myself convinced that I have advanced lung cancer and I don't have long to live. I can't concentrate and I'm filled with fear every minute of the day. I can't sleep at night. I want to get this chest x-ray done and yet I'm terrified of having it done. I don't know how I'm going to cope until the 14th when I get it done plus have to wait for the results. My husband doesn't even want to talk to me about this because he's sick of hearing about all my complaints and fears. I really need some reassurance right now and someone to calm me down. How do I cope with all of this? Thanks for listening. I know this is a long ramble.