LYMPHOMA ANXIETY, PLEASE HELP

[we scared or whateva]

YALL.. whew, child I have to get this off my chest. But FIRST, there's some things I want to mention: i'm african american, 14, and have asthma. so about like the first week of school (mid august) i started having shortness of breath, but I brushed off as my asthma flaring up. about a week later, i got a cold :,). i google the symptoms... and i have convinced myself i have LYMPHOMA, LEUKEMIA, MELANOMA, A BRAIN TUMOR and like THREE MORE. The rest have kind of died down, but Lymphoma is sticking. I was finally able to start getting over my cold last week, but a few days ago I felt a swollen lymph node behind my ear. It moves under my hand, small, and doesn't really hurt unless I put pressure on it. SO NOW IM WORRIED SICK! I broke down crying in the school hallway yesterday because this fear is consuming me! I'm only having ONE other lymphoma symptom, which is the itchy legs. But it's also allergy season. I read online that a swollen lymph node could be caused by a tooth infection (WHICH I JUST HAD as i've got a chipped tooth and i'm still not sure if the infection is gone) or could be caused by a cold, which i'm getting over. I know it's unlikely but it's consuming my thought 24/7 and completely ruining my life. i CANNOT stop googling symptoms and it's doing nothing but making things worse. PLEASE SOMEONE GIVE ME SOME REASSURANCE. The anxiety is way worse than I can describe. Every pain, every sneeze, every cough is a red flag for me. I feel like i'm completely alone. Please please please someone help me. Please, i'm begging you.

 

[matisworried]

sorry you're experiencing so much anxiety. i think the answer to the symptoms you're experiencing are in your post. your shortness of breath is likely caused by your asthma, cold, allergies or a combination of the three. your itchy legs could be do to allergies, the change in season or your eczema. the swollen lymph nodes could be due to your cold or the tooth infection you had. fyi - when lymph nodes are cancerous, they generally are painless, hard as a rock and fixed, meaning you can't move them around. it's HIGHLY (highly) unlikely you have cancer.

researching symptoms is dangerous activity for people with health anxiety. it will NEVER make you feel better. the only thing it WILL do is cause even more anxiety. you say you can't stop googling but the truth is you can. if it's that much of a problem and you literally have no self-control, i'd suggest turning your phone/ipad/laptop whatever over to a parent so you don't have access. i'd also highly suggest discussing your concerns with your parents. you don't need to suffer through this alone.

 

[we scared or whateva]

sorry you're experiencing so much anxiety. i think the answer to the symptoms you're experiencing are in your post. your shortness of breath is likely caused by your asthma, cold, allergies or a combination of both. your itchy legs could be do to allergies, the change in season or your eczema. the swollen lymph nodes could be due to your cold or the tooth infection you had. fyi - when lymph nodes are cancerous, they generally are painless, hard as a rock and fixed, meaning you can't move them around. it's HIGHLY (highly) unlikely you have cancer.

researching symptoms is dangerous activity for people with health anxiety. it will NEVER make you feel better. the only thing it WILL do is cause even more anxiety. you say you can't stop googling but the truth is you can. if it's that much of a problem and you literally have no self-control, i'd suggest turning your phone/ipad/laptop whatever over to a parent so you don't have access. i'd also highly suggest discussing your concerns with your parents. you don't need to suffer through this alone.

wOW THANK YOU

wOW THANK YOU

right but sometimes i cant tell if its my finger moving over the lymph node or if the lymph node is actually swollen? I WANT THIS TO END OMG

 

[cheer_mom]

Don't Google. We have all done it and it only causes us more worry. I understand how consuming it can be, but try to relax and breathe. Try talking to your parent or someone you trust about what you are going through and of course feel free to post here.

 

[matisworried]

wOW THANK YOU

right but sometimes i cant tell if its my finger moving over the lymph node or if the lymph node is actually swollen? I WANT THIS TO END OMG

straight up, just try not to worry about it and stop messing with it. it's only going to delay healing or, even worse for someone with health anxiety, keep it inflamed. also, you're not a doctor. you're not qualified to check your lymph nodes. let doctors do the diagnosing. you're absolutely fine!