Lung cancer fears

[Julesbeachy]

I’ve had a terrible couple of years. Mum died very suddenly of cancer. The pandemic. My dad diagnosed with Copd. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would hit rock bottom and I knew HA would rear it’s ugly head. It’s been years since I had a proper episode. I was a bit anxious after mum died and had a few HA moments. But that went quite quickly. But Watching my mum die was traumatic. And it was due to a mis diagnosis of cancer. I won’t go into detsils as I don’t want to trigger anyone.

Anyway. Over a year ago I started with a cough. And chest tightness. In the last few months it got worse. I went to the dr. Had xrays. Dr listened to my chest. I then was diagnosed as Asthmatic and put on an asthma plan. I wasn’t anxious at al. But the inhalers are not working very well which is now making me doubt the diagnosis. The nurse says my trigger is my dog. It turns out I’m allergic to dogs. I also have acid reflux. And due to my allergy my sinus are chronically inflamed. I do have sinuses headaches every day. But I am now sick with worry that they have missed something as the inhalers are not helping very much. They do help a bit. Some days I feel clear and no coughing. Other days I cough all day.

I’m on omeprazole. Have been for 14 years. But I put on a lot of weight during the pandemic so I don’t think this has helped my acid reflux. Which I know can irritate asthma. I also have earaches.

Would an X-ray show lung cancer. How accurate are they. My X-ray was clear and normal

[sEiZuRe!]

So sorry you are going through all of these. It's hard having a loved one diagnosed with COPD, let alone losing your mum to cancer. It's ok to feel very sad and judging as an outsider that sounds like the cause for your HA. By the sounds of it, you know it to be so as well (I could be wrong).

About your symptoms. The inhalers are working but you really should stay away from anything that gives you reflux. There's probably something in your diet that you're missing or something like meds that you could switch around or maybe both. I'm sure your doc can help. Your sinuses will probably have something to do with your environment, maybe the dog, maybe something else. You could test for allergies. The immune system is amazing but over time it does pick up a few flaws here and there and we end up with auto immune diseases and that's probably what you have (unpleasant but it won't kill ya).

But getting to the point: the X-ray will show lung cancer but it might be in very early stages. If your doctor said it was clear and normal, it's clear and normal. If you're still having issues after 6-9 months check again. It could be a foreign body, a virus can take ages to leave your system, or most likely something in your environment. Oh, and if you smoke, now's the time to quit.

[Julesbeachy]

Thank you so I much for your reply. I am a non smoker have never smoked. I’m just very worried that I’m in early stages. And now should be the time when it should be investigated. Although the cough started over a year ago. So I’m hoping it would be apparent now if it was anything serious.

[Flapj]

Chest x-rays are often how lung cancer is first spotted. If you gained a lot of weight you should start with that.