terrified of cancer

Cancer
1

Hi everyone,

first of all i should tell you that i have high anxiety.  my mother was diagnosed 23 years ago with breast cancer ( she is still living, thank god), and my sister was diagnosed with leukimia 2 years ago.  she is doin well right now.  i have always been afraid that i will have cancer.  I had a cat scan yesterday for spots on my liver and i'm afraid they will find cancer somewhere in my body, as the sacn shows everything.  i am so afrai for the results that its all I'm thinking about.  I'm a 52 year old female, i smoke but only drink occasionaly.  i am not losing weight, am average size, i have pain everywhere sometimes and fret about it.  can someone relate to this?

2

Hi Cathy,

Firstly, welcome to the forum. By the way, I am not a female I'm a male, but wanted to give you other details to mind at rest hopefully.

A CT Scan does not show everything at all, whoever said that is wrong. The correct procedure would be follow ups and futher scans, which would be MRI and an Ultrasound, this allows doctors to visualize the structure and texture of the organ.

The liver normally has a uniform appearance on imaging scans. A spot on the liver describes an area that appears different from the majority of the liver tissue. Infections, inflammatory reactions and various types of noncancerous and cancerous tumors can appear as spots on the liver. Additional tests help identify the underlying cause of a spot seen on a liver imaging study.

I am assuming you have been referred to the hospital or your doctor. Blood tests would show markers in the blood if cancer is in the body, but a blood tests can show infections as well, one example would be Pleurisy.

Keep us posted Cathy, I have been in your situation before so I know what you're  going through, but I had a phonecall from my hospital informing me I had cancer and arranged a date and time to attend hospital. It is an horrible feeling I know, my remission period ends this coming March and I have just been checked for Prostate Cancer luckily the tests came back okay. Blood tests can give false/positive results, your doctor would say this as well.

By the way, your only a year older than me, my remission period was 7 years, I was diagnosed with cancer the same week we buried my father who had died from Colon Cancer, it was a hard time for all of us. At least in remission they keep a good eye on you, even though I hated CT Scans and that awful drink. I expect others will post like myself, I have made friends on here whom have cancer and having treatment, there is plenty of us.

All the best Cathy,

Regards,

Les.

3

Hi Les,

I'm assuming thats your name. Thank you so much for your reply, you have made me feel at ease a bit. I was told a ct scan would show all of my organs and show any signs of Cancer. I am so anxious. I am so sorry you have had to go through what you have gone through. You seem like a strong person and you seem very caring. I hope and pray that everything will work out for you. Do people here have facebook accounts that we can connect on? Not sure if thats ok, but would be easier to connect. Thanks again and I do hope to talk with you again.

Cathy.

4

Hi Cathy,

You are welcome Cathy. Yes, that is correct my name is Les, perhaps I should change it, I have been asked many times why I call myself disabled Les. Okay, I beat cancer - but I have many other disorders wrong with me. Cancer to me was really minor compared to other problems.

For 30 years now, I have Dystonic problems - rediagnosed last year to Generalized Dystonia, ,meaning affecting the whole body, which was previously Focal Segmental Dystonia, Epilepsy, Functional Episodes, etc. I am on over 30 tablets a day consisting of Class A & C drugs, 5 Botox injections every 10 weeks at the hospital, and under numerous Consultants, for Neurology, Oncology, Urology, Epileptic Specialist, Pain Management and my own Doctor.

Cancer can kill I know, but what I have been through is a nightmare, I would not wish not up on anyone, I did have a "Small intestinal ischemia and infarction", basically I was dying from the inside out, because my intestine had gone gangrene of over 50cm long removed. That was one major operation, 2 days later when I should have got better I had become worse and started throwing up bile, they measured over 5ltrs and rushed me down to surgery again, part of my liver was gangrene, which was removed in the 2nd operation. Both operations I could have died under but pulled through, it took 10 months to heal properly.

There are people on here with Facebook Accounts, but it is not a good idea to post your details directly on forums, which are on public view. If you need to contact anyone you can click on the envelope below their Picture, and Private Message them.

To be honest, I wish I could do more than I do now - but I'm limited in many ways, and over the years it just becomes worse, people think I have MS, but that is far from the truth, there is no cures for what I have - only medications to control it... pain for me is daily, 24/7 thats why I am on Tramadol, Paracetamol, and a buch of other medications.

If you need any information, I am quite up to date on most things!

Regards,

Les.