introducing myself - scared i have lung cancer

[nikki3158]

Hi, my name is nicola, i am 37 years old and i am a smoker. I came across this site purely by chance and im really glad that i have. I had to have a chuckle at some of the helpful rational comments because they just described me down to a tee. I have gone through stages where what ever ache and pain i have i am convinced it is cancer of some sort.

Currently i am convinced i have lung cancer and i am really scared. I have tried to rationilize it but im not doing very well. for months i have had a dull ache in my lower left side, mainly in my rib, i also have right arm and shoulder pain and left thigh pain. I have done the worst thing i could possibly do and i have googled it which has brought up lung cancer. I dont have a cough, im not breathless and im not coughing up blood. I have recently had blood tests run twice and they have just said it shows immflamation but the dr is not concerned. I went to a & e last night and im now even more worried because the dr asked if i had had a chest xray. I did ask if she felt this was necessary and she said no not particularly. I am seeing a councellor for health anxiety although ive only had one appointment. has anyone else had any of these symptoms as im driving myself mad and need some reassurance

[flamarella]

hello,

im very sorry about how you are feeling, i completely understand what you are going through i also have smoked for years. im 25 and i promise i have had the exact pains you are describing pain in the ribs, shoulder blade, dull ache in chest, trouble breathing etc... i still sometimes worry that i have it but its also the anxiety that gets you like this. im putting a patch tomorrow i quit for 5 months and i felt great. no pain but the fact that you keep thinking about the pain it will be there. and you need to STOP googling lol i just did that the other day about a swollen gland and omg was that a bad idea i currently think i have lymphoma!!

the best advice i can give you is stop smoking!! stop googling!! and everytime you feel really horrible and anxious come here and vent =)

[olderfella]

as suggested stop googling lol your feeding your anxiety:)

[Vanilla Sky]

You should have had the chest x-ray it would have put your mind at rest, ask you doctor if you can get one . The aches and pains anxiety causes is unbelievable, thats what convinces us it must be something serious.
Welcome to NMP , you will find it helpful and supportive here

:welcome: Paige x

[nikki3158]

Thankyou for all your posts. I cant beleive that there seems to be thousands of people out there who feel like me. I gave up smoking earlier this year for 5 months and your right i didnt get any aches and pains. I really want to stop again but its a vicious circle, i get anxious so i smoke more. I know that if i go for a chest xray it will put my mind at rest but im also too scared to have one incase they find something. I feel like a right prat, but a bit of a scared prat!

[calm]

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

i am also scared - chain smoking oh so much and not eating! anxiety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it is such a cycle isnt it xxxx thinking of you xxxxx

[paula lynne]

Hi and welcome..:welcome:NEVER GOOGLE...STOP SMOKING! Youll find lots of help and support here hun, and a good place to start is reading up on panic and anxiety on the left. Im glad to meet you. xxxxx:hugs:

[Hazel B]

Welcome!

Please stay away from "Dr Google" and try to stop smoking.

Since my anxiety started, I've stopped smoking and drinking anything with caffeine, as both can make anxiety worse. Smoking seems to relax you, but in reality it doesn't. I got so scared that I had a terminal illness that giving up fags was easy - no patches, fake plastic fags or gum! All they do is continue the addiction, I'm not judging by the way as I enjoyed smoking.

I'd had tummy pain and imagined the worst, turns out it's a gallstone, painful but not terminal, so I know what health anxiety is like. Have an XRay if it puts your mind at ease, but the best thing you can do is quit the fags. Some of your symptoms may be anxiety, I get a racing heart and headaches. Take care.

[Cthy]

I was a smoker throughout high school and college and on and off until age 32 (am now 38). I also went through a lung cancer fear, after Christopher Reeves wife died of it. There is a specific lung cancer that has shoulder pain (I thought I had this kind too but it was a pinched nerve) but the pain is an intractable and unrelenting, significant and increasing pain.

I've had two close relatives with lung cancer and one family friend and there was no pain or coughing with them, their early symptoms were dramatic weight loss and severe fatigue.

Don't worry but stop smoking! It was the best thing I ever did.

[nikki3158]

hi, sorry do you mean that the shoulder pain in lung cancer is painful and unrelenting or the pinched nerve?

[Cthy]

The pain in lung cancer (in this particular form of lung cancer). This is what a doctor told me, it's not a dull ache.

[randomworry]

hi nicki if i were you to deal with this anxiety i would have a chest x ray. if it is clear. try your best to forget about lung cancer by keeping really busy and use you fear to propel you to quit smoking.

im sure you dont have lung cancer your too young for that

[nikki3158]

Thankyou so much, im so glad i found this site your all so supportive

[Ambers]

Hi Nikki,
I used to get really heavy dull pain in my lungs/chest area when I smoked as well as pain in my shoulders and arms (some of the pain may have been stress related) however since I stopped smoking the heavy dull pain in my chest/lungs has gone...still get the other pain but like I said this may be stress related. I haven't smoked for 4 years now and I cant believe I ever did...

Please give up if you can although I do realise this is hard thing to do.

Take care x

[nikki3158]

Thanks ambers, i decided yesterday that i am going to start cutting down and stop. I know I cant stop totally at the moment cause im anxious but I figured cutting down is a good place to start :)

[Hazel B]

Nikki, use that fear of illness to drive you to stop, I'm sure it will help. I can't believe now that I smoked for 20 years and how I wish I had stopped before. The cravings pass I promise, I miss coffee more now.

Again, I'm not lecturing, but since you're so worried about your lungs, it's the best thing you could do to stop.

[angelique]

Hi Nikki,
I used to get really heavy dull pain in my lungs/chest area when I smoked as well as pain in my shoulders and arms (some of the pain may have been stress related) however since I stopped smoking the heavy dull pain in my chest/lungs has gone...still get the other pain but like I said this may be stress related. I haven't smoked for 4 years now and I cant believe I ever did...

Please give up if you can although I do realise this is hard thing to do.

Take care x

Hello there. I get the same pains on and off as well. I also stopped smoking earlier this year and it took a while to feel better but eventually I did. Stupid me started smoking again and now those pains are on and off again. I'm now reading the book 'The Easy Way to Stop Smoking' by Allan Carr and hopefully it will help me stop for good. It's an awful destructive habit smoking and I so hate the addiction. x

[angelique]

Nikki, use that fear of illness to drive you to stop, I'm sure it will help. I can't believe now that I smoked for 20 years and how I wish I had stopped before. The cravings pass I promise, I miss coffee more now.

Again, I'm not lecturing, but since you're so worried about your lungs, it's the best thing you could do to stop.

I'm as scared as Nikki and reading everyone's replies has settled my mind abit. Hazel, congratulations for quitting. Can I ask, did you feel the dull achy pain as well when you were smoking?

[Hazel B]

No, I didn't get the pain, just wheezy in bed at night, with a bit of an ongoing cough.

I looked at the option of patches, gum etc, but they seem to be a con to me; you still have the nicotine addiction plus they cost the same as smoking! I just went cold turkey and every time I wanted to smoke I told myself to wait 5 minutes and breathe deeply, then it passes.

I wish I had the same willpower to overcome anxiety but I guess it's too big a thing to do, I do have better days now so maybe that's a good sign.

[angelique]

No, I didn't get the pain, just wheezy in bed at night, with a bit of an ongoing cough.

I looked at the option of patches, gum etc, but they seem to be a con to me; you still have the nicotine addiction plus they cost the same as smoking! I just went cold turkey and every time I wanted to smoke I told myself to wait 5 minutes and breathe deeply, then it passes.

I wish I had the same willpower to overcome anxiety but I guess it's too big a thing to do, I do have better days now so maybe that's a good sign.

Thanks Hazel. Good for you for going cold turkey. I hope I have the same willpower as you to quit for good. As for the anxiety, I have the same issues. For as long as I can remember (and I'm in my 40's now), I've always worried that I have some illness. I'm so tired after all these years of worry. Don't get me wrong - I have my good days but it seems that the bad days are more frequent. Hope we all get over this as it is so debilitating.

[Hazel B]

No worries, I hope you have many more good days and good luck in cutting down/giving up fags! x