This is just too much.

[Imara]

So one of my worst fears has already happened. I had surgery for BC last year. Found it early and had good prognosis. For a while my anxiety was good but now I am spiraling and it has to do with with a fear of pancreatic cancer. I have a pain in my upper back, nasty taste in my mouth and I am itchy. Been to the doc and the put me on Prilosec but was not helping it. I tried some enzymes and they helped. I also think I hav a mold issue in my house so I am feeling overwhelmed.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[cheer_mom]

Have they done a scan lately? My sister had BC and she gets scans every 6 months

 

[Imara]

I have never had a full scan. Just the mammo.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[cheer_mom]

That's crazy. They didn't do a PET scan or anything? I would call your oncologist and demand a full body scan just to be sure.

 

[matisworried]

That's crazy. They didn't do a PET scan or anything? I would call your oncologist and demand a full body scan just to be sure.

WHOA! SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW DOWN!

even in situations like this, doctoring should be left to doctors. there are MANY factors that go into deciding what kind of treatment/post-op treatment is needed with a disease like cancer so suggesting she demand a very expensive and likely unnecessary scan based off of very, very minimal information seems like bad advice to me. no disrespect. i just think as HA sufferers, we're probably not the best people to be suggesting people see a doctor. i've been through cancer diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment care with multiple clients. the decisions that are made are VERY specific to the individual and tons of things we have no grasp of go in to deciding how it should be handled. it is definitely NOT common to get full-body scans if there are no signs a cancer has spread.

if you had pancreatic cancer, the enzymes you took wouldn't help. anxiety can cause these symptoms and definitely make things worse.

 

[cheer_mom]

I don't think you have pancreatic cancer at all. Prob just good ole anxiety causing physical symptoms. I have just never heard of not having a scan with a cancer diagnosis even when caught early.

 

[matisworried]

I don't think you have pancreatic cancer at all. Prob just good ole anxiety causing physical symptoms. I have just never heard of not having a scan with a cancer diagnosis even when caught early.

i can tell you for certain that it is very common. i literally am 2 weeks post-op with a client that had a fairly aggressive liver cancer. even with how aggressive it is, there was no need for additional testing because the size of the mass alone was enough to indicate it hadn't spread - in his situation, there is less than a 2% chance it had spread. they told us they didn't even start to worry until it's at least double the size it was. then, after it was removed, pathology did there thing and gave the all-cured. he DOES need to return for site-specific scan ever 6 months for 2 years, but that's a whole different ball of wax than getting a full-body scan.

 

[cheer_mom]

Cancer has affected so many around me. I tend to get overly anxious about it and I'm sorry if I came across insensitive or pushy. Call your Dr and explain your fears and what's going on. He may want to do a scan because of your past history.

 

[Cuchculan]

This is just about sitting down and having a chat with your doctor. Let the doctor explain how things work. Express your fears about it spreading elsewhere and the doctor will give you a straight answer. It can be a hard time finding out you have BC. Some people even need to see a therapist after such things. I have known many people who have had BC. They get their six monthly check-ups and all are very healthy people today. But the only one who can answer your questions about any fears you might be having is your doctor. If the doctor decides anything else is needed, that is between you and the doctor. Fair to say on here we are anxiety sufferers. So we get the whole anxiety side of things. Cheer-Mom was only trying to help. Based on the people she knew who had cancer of one sort or the other. But medical advise is one thing we should all stir clear from. Were some of it might be good. It only takes one bad bit of information for things to go badly wrong. Which was what matisworried was getting at. The doctor should always have the only say in such serious concerns. They know their stuff. Just like we all know our anxiety well enough.

 

[matisworried]

Cancer has affected so many around me. I tend to get overly anxious about it and I'm sorry if I came across insensitive or pushy.

i totally understand, which is why i said something. from time to time, there have been posts here that have triggered my anxiety. when that happens, i make sure my emotions aren't interfering before i comment. obviously, we all know how freaked out we might get if someone is telling us to demand tests or whatnot. i just don't want the op to panic unnecessarily because someone is telling them to demand tests.

 

[Imara]

Thanks for the feedback. Back pain happening right now and nasty taste in mouth. I have read this could be gerd. Going to go get some nexium. Also have read probiotics help. Even though I can think rationally about this there is that part of me that thinks it is cancer. I am going to be checked for autoimmune and this could be related as well. Anxiety is so much fun...not....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[matisworried]

Thanks for the feedback. Back pain happening right now and nasty taste in mouth. I have read this could be gerd. Going to go get some nexium. Also have read probiotics help. Even though I can think rationally about this there is that part of me that thinks it is cancer. I am going to be checked for autoimmune and this could be related as well. Anxiety is so much fun...not....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

the combo of pain/foul taste in mouth is classic reflux. you can always try the BRAT diet for a few days (bananas, plain rice, apples and dry toast.) at the very least, take a look at your diet and try eliminating triggers. caffeine and carbonation are huge ones for me... so is eating late.

given your health history, i think it's totally understandable you'd be concerned. i think at least part of what you're feeling is very common and probably even a bit normal given you're a cancer survivor. have you tried therapy?

 

[cheer_mom]

Nexium should help. Try propping your head of your bed up. I put books under my bed posts and it helped my reflux.

That's crazy. They didn't do a PET scan or anything? I would call your oncologist and demand a full body scan just to be sure.

I am very sorry. I should have said "call your Dr or oncologist and explain your fears. From there you.both can decide if you need any testing.

 

[Imara]

No need to apologize and thank you for your feedback


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[cheer_mom]

I'm having a colonoscopy in a few weeks because I have IBS and family history of colon cancer. I have them every 5 years, and they are always fine, but it's always in the back of my mind whether it's gonna turn bad.

 

[Imara]

Sending good vibes your way


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[cheer_mom]

You as well