Pancreatic cancer

[Snooper1]

Hello new to forum
Ling story started Jan last year with nausea and sickness in morning on sitting up in bed. Ultrasound Feb 17 clear. Over m8nths had endoscopy and colonoscopy all clear. Ct head scan clear. March 18 pain in left flank for 4 days over two weeks then pains in rib cages. Ct scan with contrast March clear. Since then malabsorption of fat. Saw private gastroenterologist may who said Definitely not pancreatic cancer referred for faecal elastase test. Very very scared. Mother died Feb and she was my go to person. Have seen a psychiatrist this week and being prescribed a drug and psychotherapy. I know these symptoms are not 8n my head and I know the results show nothing but things are getting worse.having v dark thoughts.

[paranoid-viking]

Well, you had scans and tests and all of them says you dont have pancreatic cancer so its not that. I am not saying it is nothing, but it is not pancreatic cancer; then all these tests you had would show it.
Sad to hear about your mother. Not to be personal, but did she have that cancer you fear?

[Snooper1]

Hi. No mum didn't have any cancer she died from cops and was 79. I am frantic cos of the lack of absorption of fat and most recently peeing a lot which can be start of diabetes which can be linked to pancreatic cancer. Ct was 3 m9nths ago but ct scan cannot see below 1cm.

[nomorepanic]

You are going to have to trust the professionals on this one as they said definitely not cancer.

[Fishmanpa]

The thing is, someone with anxiety (primarily), that gets stomach/side/back pain, in all it's various forms, is not surprising in the least. Digestive issues are by far, the most common side effect of anxiety. It's real too!

I don't doubt you for a minute you're not feeling well, but being that you have medical science backing it up... There's nothing physically serious going on here. Psychologically, it's a different story. Speak to your GP about the physical symptoms and see if there's something you can take to help and look into real life professional help for your anxiety. Life's too short to live like you're dying.

Positive thoughts

[Anxiousamyj]

Try some digestive enzymes. They help me through my anxiety induced GI issues.

[Snooper1]

I am waiting for a test to see f i need pancreatic enzymes but it will b months till test. This morning more pains in left flank and was sick at lunchtime. no appetite. not been a good day as still get overwhelmed by grief over mum dying in february. honestly feel so low today that i am worried.

[jojo2316]

Hello! I think we met on another forum? Hi! And welcome to this one!
So you clearly do have real symptoms, but you know you also suffer from anxiety. Given what you have been through I think it’s totally natural that you are suffering from anxiety- and perhaps depression too? You’ve lost your mum; your go-to person. That is HUGE. Is it any wonder you struggling? Do you have anyone else close to you who is supporting you?
You don’t have pancreatic cancer (like your consultant told you; a tumour too small to be seen on the scan would be too small to cause the symptoms you have been suffering from). But you ARE suffering. You ARE going through an incredibly hard time. Of course you don’t feel well - be kind to yourself, and I do hope you have others around you being kind to you too. You deserve it

[Snooper1]

HI Jojo
I dont really have someone else to go to as my immediate family are weary of my health anxiety which has been around for a long time. I am hoping that the new medication which the psych has prescribed will help but i fear that the psychotherapy will take some time to materialise.

In the meantime i am going to phone my gp who is on duty tomorrow and see what she says. I am so so tired of the worry because for me this is no longer do i have pancreatic cancer it is just a matter of time as to when they find it. I am plagued by memories of work colleague whose partner suffered from what he thoght was flu like symptoms for months only to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he only survived 8 weeks from diagnosis. This is why the sweating freaks me out. The doc tries to tell me its sweating from menopause but what if its not.

[jojo2316]

So why are you so sure you have pancreatic cancer? Ask yourself this: do you hold the belief you have pancreatic cancer for rational reasons? Is there objective evidence to support your belief?
Look at it this way: Imagine someone you know without health anxiety. Put yourself in their head. If they suffered your symptoms, and had the tests you’ve had, and had the doctors tell them they categorically DO NOT have pancreatic cancer - would they still think they had it? Almost certainly NOT. Probably they would not have attributed their symptoms to pancreatic cancer in the first place, especially if their GP wasn’t worried (as I think yours was not??).
So. Therefore I think this PROVES your firm belief you have pancreatic cancer is NOT RATIONAL. This is useful information because it indicates your belief is caused by your brain playing tricks on you. If you accept your brain is playing tricks on you, I think you can make a little progress towards digging out of this hole.
“I believe I have pancreatic cancer because my mind is playing tricks on me”
NOT “I believe I have pancreatic cancer because there is evidence to suggest I do”.
And yet you are having a genuinely REALLY HARD TIME.
You are terrified, you’ve lost your mum, you feel alone because no one believes you.
Those things are your problem NOT pancreatic cancer.
It is possible to KNOW that is true without FEELING it. And that would be a start!
Good luck!