Scared about Pancreatic Cancer... again!!

[Scared1234]

About 7 years ago, I went through a pancreatic cancer scare. I had a friend who had passed away and I was having some of the same symptoms. She thought it was her gallbladder and ended up being pancreatic cancer. Mine ended up being my gallbladder and I had it removed but the fear remained. I ended up having a lot of digestive issues afterwards that medication didn’t seem to help. I ended up seeing the chiropractor and he helped a great deal. About once a year, I have the same symptoms pop up again.
A few years ago, another friend was diagnosed with PC, as well and has since passed. So I’m very aware of symptoms and how it progresses. I saw a GI dr about 2 years ago and had a scope down. It was found I had a hiatal hernia, gastritis, and a intolerance to gluten. I have randomly seen my chiropractor anytime I have felt the symptoms come on again.
A week ago, I started feeling sick to my stomach for a day or two. Since then, I have had rib pain in the right side (feels like it’s on top of the rib), back pain, a possible rib that needs adjusting, reflux symptoms, etc. I did well with not going down the PC road until I saw something about PC posted online. Since then, I’ve had a hard time with controlling my fear that this could really be PC. I mean, the symptoms are all there.
But, they are the same symptoms as a lot of other things too.
The “pain” I feel is more like little pinches in my ribs and back. Several different locations. It never lasts long. By the time I touch where the pain is, it stops. Do you think that sounds like it could be pain from pancreatic cancer? Or would the pain be more localized? And not in different areas?
I go back and forth on running to the dr. Do I want to get bad news before the holiday? Or do I want to sit around and worry instead?
I’m going to visit my chiropractor this week. I hope it helps. But it worries me that it won’t and then I’ll be even more worried and scared that this could finally be the PC diagnosis.
I’m exhausted from the worry and how I always go straight to the worst possible diagnosis. But at some point, I worry I’m going to finally get the bad news...

 

[Bobnnat]

Hi Scared,

Sadly, most of us here are just like you, catastrophizing every pain as the worst possible cause. Many of us get triggered by reading articles, or hearing/knowing of people who were diagnosed with the disease we fear. So, you are far from alone.

From what I understand, PC causes a localized pain that is described as "boring" meaning really intense. It does not come and go, jumping from spot to spot. That sounds like what I get, including the pain on one side, involving the rib. It's muscular.

Also, in at least 50% of PC cases, jaundice is a first symptom. Serious weight loss is also a key initial sign. In fact, during my last PC freak out, my doctor said to come back after I've noticed a drop of 30 pounds in a month. He also said (and he knows my HA) "you know this is bullshit, right?" And recall my symptoms were similar to yours.

You do not have PC. Again: you do not have PC.

 

[matisworried]

i think @Bobnnat has some sound advice.

it is completely understandable to have this fear after losing two friends to it. i'm incredibly sorry for your loss. i'm sure alex trebek's very public battle with it isn't helping matters, either...

but just try to keep in mind that you've had these fears before and that's all they were. this is just a continuation of those fears. do you google symptoms? if so, please try to resist the urge. it does nothing but harm to people suffering from HA.

 

[Scared1234]

Thanks for the replies! I guess what worries me about a diagnosis is how hard and tricky it can be to get diagnosed with PC. Neither of my friends had jaundice and neither had lost any weight. One went to the dr thinking it was gallbladder and the other went thinking it was kidney stones. So it’s hard knowing that these pains could be nothing serious all the way to something extremely serious.
Sometimes I think I have to hear it from a doctor even though I try to not go often, unless necessary.
I did go see my chiropractor today. Im
Hoping that I’ll feel back to normal after a week or so of adjustments. I worry because the pain is sharp and decidedly in the area of my pancreas (I think). The rib pain is sharp as well and feels like it is on TOP of my ribs, not necessarily under them. Have any of you experienced that? Most of my pains are on my left side, but a few times I feel the same pain on the right.
I have not googled PC because I honestly already know too much about it. And I also know that anything I type in, with the words “and pancreatic cancer”, will come back with SOMETHING. It was just by random that something popped up on my social media that was about a woman who had died from PC. The last time I got worried, I was able to control it. This time, I didn’t start to get too worried until after a few days. I try to tell myself that I’ve felt these pains before. But, I haven’t had any scans done in a long time, an upper scope last spring, and blood work hasn’t been done since my annual visit back in the spring. So nothing is saying I’m fine...
Also... how do you differentiate between pain that’s under your ribs versus what seems to be on top of them? Or is it all the same?

 

[Scared1234]

What do you know about pain that has moved to the right side, a bit to the right of the middle of my tummy. I haven’t had the pain on the right before, always the left. It’s not a pain that lasts long—maybe 30 seconds and it goes away. I’ve had it about 3 times today. Does that sound like it could be PC that’s in the head of the pancreas? I don’t have a gallbladder, so it can’t be from that!

 

[Asgmiami1]

What do you know about pain that has moved to the right side, a bit to the right of the middle of my tummy. I haven’t had the pain on the right before, always the left. It’s not a pain that lasts long—maybe 30 seconds and it goes away. I’ve had it about 3 times today. Does that sound like it could be PC that’s in the head of the pancreas? I don’t have a gallbladder, so it can’t be from that!

How are you doing now? Any better?