brain tumor fear has flared up again

[lanerbanana]

hello everyone, it's me again, knocking on the door

i have had yet ANOTHER fear again, this time mixed with my heart attack fear (which you know. is fun)
i've had a brain tumor fear for as long as i can remember. it's one of my worst HA fears. every headache i get i chalk it up to "oh it's brain tumor time!!!" even though deep down i know it isnt.
lately though, ive been getting these weird symptoms.
i've had pain in my eyebrow/under my eyes that switches from eye to eye (though im pretty sure that's from sinusitis as it gets better with warm/hot cloth treatment)
this weird, black floater in my right eye that i just noticed like. two weeks ago. sometimes it fades from my line of sight but whenever i look at something bright (like my computer screen or the sky) i see it and it's kinda annoying. whenever i go outside and look at the sky i not only see the floater but other ones too, but they go away. this black floater though doesnt seem to be going away. i've read that nearsighted people are more likely to get floaters and i am certainly nearsighted, haha
but i've also read that sometimes floaters can be caused by eye tumors (i don't think i specifically saw anything about brain tumors) but i don't think i have an eye tumor,,
i also seem to focus really hard on my cognitive function, like if i make even the slightest mistake in speaking or if i cant remember a specific detail
about a story or a person, i start to panic a little because usually i'm pretty good with remembering small details. that could be my anxiety but i'm not exactly sure.
my neck also tends to tense up a lot more frequently now, which might be the cause of the fatigue im also getting.

i just feel like im running on fumes at this point, and im scared to go to an eye doctor because
1. my family are already burdened by a lot of medical stuff right now, so i dont want to add to that and have it be for nothing
2. what if they DO find something? what if they find my intra crainial pressure is raised and they find a tumor?

i guess i just need some reassurance that i dont have a brain tumor and that floaters are normal and aren't a sign of bad things to come.

thank you guys in advance <3

[Rox2019]

I have a ton of floaters! I’ve had them since 2011. Hope this helps!

[lanerbanana]

it does!! im just glad other people get them and have them too so im not alone, and it doesnt automatically mean something's wrong

[Gee]

Don’t worry about floaters ... so if you get a SUDDEN onset of loads of them then get it checked, it can possibly be retinal detachment but so unlikely - I notice LOADS more floaters when I’m anxious, I went to the optician the other day and had the normal tests but also a OCT scan which is eye hospital equipment that can see all the layers of your eye and your optic nerve and all sorts of stuff and it was fine - I asked the guy about floaters and he said yeh I have about 50 or 60 in each eye and mostly I don’t notice them but as soon as someone comes in here and says they have floaters it’s all I can see!

[Hypo84]

I also have floaters since last September. Didn't have them before and my vision is perfect. Not sure why they started appearing but I learned to live with them.

[lanerbanana]

hi hypo and gee!! yeah i'm learning to live with mine as well, they dont bother me as much anymore lol
it was just so weird bc i noticed it and it and it wasnt going away like the worm looking floaters do heh
thank you for your reassurance!

[lanerbanana]

oh look what fear is flaring up again...

i've been burdened by anxiety for two weeks now with different things. i thought i had COPD at first but now that fear seems to have subsided, thankfully. i got a shower today and didnt have another breathless attack so that's good! but...i felt really fatigued and sleepy afterwards, i dont know if it's because i haven't gotten enough sleep lately, but im afraid i might have a tumor somewhere...my neck and shoulders and some parts of my back are stiff and fatigued, and i've been anxious for two weeks now...i guess i tensed up a lot while i was in the shower? i don't know, i need some reassurance

[NotDeadYet]

lanerbanana,

The best reassurance you will ever receive is your own self-reassurance. Seeking external reassurance is only temporary until the next fear comes along. Use your own written words to reassure yourself.

i've been burdened by anxiety for two weeks now with different things

You already recognize that your anxiety is getting the best of you.

i got a shower today and didnt have another breathless attack so that's good!

You can use this to ground yourself in the reality that your previous anxiety ended up being nothing.

i guess i tensed up a lot while i was in the shower

Absolutely. This is sound logic and great thinking. Stick with this and don't let other stories creep in.

You have the right tools to work through this.

Best Wishes.

[lanerbanana]

hello all, i am back once again...

trying REALLY hard not to spiral, haven't googled a damn thing (yes!), but i've been feeling achy and exhausted for the past two weeks ever since my anxiety started. im trying to chalk it up to just being anxiety but i think a cancer fear has been triggered today because i couldn't get away from that damn word.
NOW i think i have some type of unspecific cancer somewhere in my body (my back has been particularly achy today, had two bad panic attacks yesterday) and luckily i havent had a full blown PA about it, but i've been slightly anxious about it all day.

now, my family does not have a history of any cancer at all, the only person i know in my family who had cancer was my aunt, who had breast cancer but recovered (and also had a flesh eating disease after that too, crazy huh??) and she's on my mom's side of the family. i take most of my genes from my dad's side, and there havent been any cancer sufferers there. trying to just put my reassurance in text.

update on doc appt: closed on the weekend, but hopefully we can maybe squeeze a call in tomorrow?

[lanerbanana]

oh, i forgot to ask this: can a blood test find cancer? or is it only specific cancers