Have I Got Neurofibromatosis / Nerve Related Cancer?

[Toby2000]

You said they started showing up a few years ago. Do you have annual check ups with your GP? I would assume you've been to a doctor in the past 4 years at some point where they would have noticed these spots. There's nothing wrong with noticing new spots on your body and having them looked at, but you know that you also have health anxiety so any visit with your doctor should include a discussion on that!

Nope I've never showed them to a doctor for some reason, I just accepted them / assumed they were just one of those things

But now I've actually researched it I'm terrified

[unsure_about_this]

I have NF type 1, but no doctor, do you have a curve spine/back?

[Seymour]

Are you sure you don’t have this?

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pityriasis-versicolor/

It causes spots on the skin and it’s a benign fungus that can be rid of in days.

[Toby2000]

I have NF type 1, but no doctor, do you have a curve spine/back?

I don't have any bone abnormalities

And have you coped with it okay?

[Toby2000]

Are you sure you don’t have this?

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pityriasis-versicolor/

It causes spots on the skin and it’s a benign fungus that can be rid of in days.

Oh wow I'm shocked

https://www.firstderm.com/wp-content...10-B36.0-1.jpg

https://www.sciencesource.com/Doc/TR...g?d63644562653
https://www.floridaskincenter.com/wp...versicolor.jpg

These do look a lot like what I have only mine seem to be more yellow, not fully yellow, well you can see in this picture https://imgur.com/a/RAyV61A what colour they are

When I scratch them, they don't itch, but the skin sort of peels and looks a little more flaky when I scratch. Not much and it's pretty unnoticeable and very slight, I don't know if I'm describing it right but yeah

Thanks for this.

[Seymour]

Yeah it doesn’t itch and it’s flaky if you scratch it.

Ask you doctor for a fungus cream and you’ll see them disappearing quite fast.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Oh wow I'm shocked

https://www.firstderm.com/wp-content...10-B36.0-1.jpg

https://www.sciencesource.com/Doc/TR...g?d63644562653
https://www.floridaskincenter.com/wp...versicolor.jpg

These do look a lot like what I have only mine seem to be more yellow, not fully yellow, well you can see in this picture https://imgur.com/a/RAyV61A what colour they are

When I scratch them, they don't itch, but the skin sort of peels and looks a little more flaky when I scratch. Not much and it's pretty unnoticeable and very slight, I don't know if I'm describing it right but yeah

Thanks for this.

So, consider what you have learned from this thread:

1) avoidance. That GP wants to help you and you didn't go. Anxiety can make appointments scary or it can make (and I think some HAers do this more than other themes) the person feel they don't need to address something when feeling a bit better.

2) Researching things with a clear bias towards the worst stuff.

3) Not reading what you find properly. That NHS link states most are benign and you don't have all those (quite obvious) symptoms as you haven't been mentioning them on here.

4) Finding a criteria list and thinking it's easy to get diagnosed when most of that list points towards a specialist examining you and performing tests.

5) It's more likely something harmless and someone with more objectivity (thanks to Seymour) points to what you should have considering in the first place. And the reason you didn't? Your OCD.

I suggest you mention this to the therapist once you start. It's further evidence of your faulty thinking.

[unsure_about_this]

Yes I have coped with it fine, need to have brain scan every 3-5 years due to non cancerous spot on brain, specialist sent me for a spine a few years ago, my mum also has NF she had more lumps cut off than me.

[Toby2000]

Yeah it doesn’t itch and it’s flaky if you scratch it.

Ask you doctor for a fungus cream and you’ll see them disappearing quite fast.

Yeah exactly. I will do. Can you have it for several years though since I've seen it for like 2-4 years but only recently it's popping up in more areas on my torso region?

[Seymour]

If you don’t treat it it doesn’t go away on its own. You can definitely have it for several years and it can spread but it’s super benign and easy to treat.