Cancer Phobia!

[johanni]

I seem to be spiralling badly with this health anxiety.First, it was a fixation with my heart.That has now been ruled out.Then, just as I started feeling better a new anxiety has taken its place .I now think I may have cancer!I thought I was doing well for a while accepting that my symptoms were not cardiac,but anxiety.Now its as if my my mind wont let me relax and is trying to find another basis for my recurring symptoms.Why cant I just accept it for what it is-my anxiety dissorder!I really am losing faith in my sanity.This is truly a nightmare condition to live with!!If only the symptoms went away,then I guess anxiety would not be a problem.Or is it the other way around,that subconscious anxiety is creating the symptoms.I GIVE UP!!!
Dimi.xx

[Nelson33]

I am suffering too with this health anxiety condition. Started last november when I had a bad reflux and chest pain. Thanks to Dr.Google for ruining so many lifes by suggesting that I might have esophagus cancer. Drop 7kgs in one month because of the anxiety. The worst thing is that people around me keeps on telling me I Iost weight. That simple words makes me panic and keeps me nuts. The day came when I had an endoscopy to rule out my fear. It came out I had a small hiatal hernia popping to my stomach which is causing my reflux. I became very depress and anxious thinking that i might need to undergo surgery and to take the PPi medications for the rest of my life. Lists of sickness i am thinking i have continues. Last week, i hit my testes accidentally causing it to hurt.Next morning when i peed, it was of burning sensation so i consulted Dr. google again and yes you guessed  it right. Dr google said i migt have prostate cancer. And the thought of it keeps me awake and sometimes waking up sweaty and fast palpitations

[SilMin]

This is my story. Three weeks ago I was normal and healthy, running daily, enjoying life, filledc with joy and energy. Then I had a particularly nasty spell of IBS after a very hectic week/weekend at work. One thing led to another, and I convinced myself that I'm dying of colon cancer. So, off to my doctor. Then the specialist. Now I'm waiting for a colonoscopy which will happen in a week. As I wait, my fears increase. Every abnormal bowel movement, every ache and pain, every odd sensation confirms my self-diagnosis of colon cancer.
And then there's the weight loss. I'm convinced that I'm losing weight. Daily. I wake up every morning in a panic and look in the mirror, inspecting my body for signs of weight loss. Of course, I find them. I've had my husband hide the scale and tape measure because I was weighing and measuring mtself 20 times a day. Every fluctuation of the scale would throw me into a full-blown panic.

So, that's where I am. Obsessing about colon cancer. Believing I'm sick. Not able to sleep. My life as it once was is gone. I'm hoping the colonoscopy will turn things around. Of course, if the results are good. I have myself convinced that I have it, so I'm fully expecting very bad results.

Health anxiety/hypochondria is nothing new to me. I've been suffering from it, with varying levels of severity, for 30+ years. This recent episode is by far the worst.

[Tim198828]

Everything you said. I do the same. I convinced myself I have cancer cause I have some weight loss. I stepped on the scale and it would scare the hell out of me. Everyday I wake up and constantly worry about cancer and look at myself in the mirror for signs of weight loss.

[Dubbierover]

I am going throuh the exact same feelings every pain is Cancer and weigh  myself 10 times  a day

[Mommyju]

Wow!!! Me, me, me!
Same fears! Symptoms! All me! I'm so tired of this feeling....

[Anees12]

Hi,
Same here, i get a lill pain, worry (think its cancer ) google , get scared, google more, at some point i have enough courage to go to the doctor, they litterally laugh at me, get tested, everything fine, i feel awesome, until i figure out a new cancer, dont get sucked up in that, i missed my kids growing their first years, because all i did is googling symptoms, and survival chances for something i dont have, both my family sides are cancer free, became very old, but its still in my mind, i am muslim, and in my religion we say ; god will take your soul at a pre-determined date and time, so whatever u do , you will die at that point of time ONLY" that helps i guess.
Guys i ve been to about 15 doctors this year, before 1-3 every two years! Blood work, xrays, tubes down my nose n theoat, all that crap!
January 2015 i started feeling dizzy out of nowhere! A whole freaking week non stop, it was a hirrible experience, evey test u did came back normal! Until my wife bought me a plane ticket to go visit family, and it was all gone !!!! Everyone was saying its psychological and i didnt wanna admit it! Guys i wish u the best believe me i know 2 or 3 persons from my friends who have the same thing! You are not weird , you are okay!

[jt755]

Holy C**P!  I am relieved that I am not the only one.  That is the typical response I have seen so far and I don't know if I should feel good or what???  But let me tell you, I had a little rear exit issue with too much blood.  I went to urgent care a couple of years ago to address it and it was confirmed...Hems!  But the doc wanted a sigmoidoscopy done...I dismissed it and went on my way.  Come in to 2015 and that's where things hit the fan and my anxiety heats up.  I have a bad case of vertigo.  Freaked, I immediately schedule a doc appointment and physical.  Well, vertigo was caused by a fantastic middle ear infection.  Nothing really fascinating there.  My physical turns out normal except for my iron levels.  They are incredibly low.  Well, my earlier issue was never fully resolved.  So, my doc now concerned orders me to do a full colonoscopy.  He says in such a way, he wants to rule out Colon Cancer.  Whoa boy...my wheels are spinning now.  I was a nervous wreck up until the day of.  GI doc was more comforting...told me since I've had this for a couple of years now (actually like 3+years) I would have known by now if it was something serious.  That put me at ease as the anesthesia was kicking in and I could feel the apparatus going up my rear.  Minutes later, I am woken up to a clean bill of health!  I am elated!  I feel like I have a new lease on life...UNTIL I get a call from my doctor 3 weeks later.  He is still concerned about my iron levels.  He can't believe hem bleeding can cause that much iron to be lost.   This is where a) I take another tail spin and b) kinda lose faith in my doc.  I have to remind him that this has been going on for years, not days, not weeks.  Suffice it to say, I'm freaked again.  So much so that in the coming months my chest starts to hurt.  I feel that I am not breathing normal.  I finally go to urgent care.  They hook me up and the whole 9 yards.  Doc listens to my breathing, apparently everything is clear.  I flat out ask...is it Lung Cancer.  Doc apologizes and says no, "I should have stated that at the beginning."  "You're fine, people your age (I'm 35) come in all the time with this..anxiety.  Go home and enjoy your life, your kids (I have 2)."  However, before that, it was noticed that my EKG showed a little abnormal heartbeat.  So, I go in for a full on stress test.  That..comes out normal!  So I'm normal!  BUT no matter how many times I try to convince myself I'm good...I'm constantly worrying.  I have aches on my side that feel like and probably are just muscle sores.  I have a really bad bed.  But...I'm convincing myself that I have cancer...all thanks to Dr. Google!!!   Do I go to the doctor for something as foolish as this?  I probably will end up going...then feel better for like 15 minutes and then worry about something else.  I hate HATE HATE this feeling.  I can't shake it!  It all stems from my damn colonoscopy when my Doc told me he wanted to rule out Colon Cancer....What he could have said was...I would like to see what's going on...not..Let's rule out Cancer.  I think Doctors forget how hearing that word "cancer" can affect someones daily life...even if it's and "if".....This forum has shown me that I'm not alone...and whoever reads this...You are not alone.  

[Jo_jjr]

Wow, all this sounds so familiar, it's scary and makes me feel crazy. My mom had breast and ovarian cancer and her mom had breast cancer, her sister had ovarian cancer and my dad had brain cancer... So let's just say I've been paranoid since I was in my 20's... My cousin passed away 2 years ago from ovarian cancer and never even knew she had it, she was gone in 1 week. My aunt ( my moms other sister) passed away from colon cancer last year also..
Soooo... I had the braca testing done and it was negative that I don't have the gene but I went ahead and had my uterus and ovaries taken out anyway last year because I was convinces I had ovarian cancer but it was just a large fibroid... Ugh, it's horrible to go through life this way. I'm now convinced I have colon cancer and a brain tumor !, what is wrong with me??!!!