Worried about symptoms!

Also I forgot to mention I have had severe lower backache today, which did ease off this evening without painkillers. Nausea this morning for the first time. 

I also had a full blood count done which came back normal. And my thyroid checked which was normal. 

xx

Hi there Mummyofthree, 

Welcome to the online community. The first bit of advice I would give is try to stay away from Dr Google, it can be a very scary place & if you already suffer health anxiety then this will only add to your stress. 

Secondly you’ve done the right thing by getting checked out & it sounds as though your Dr’s are being thorough with booking you in to have a sigmoidoscopy. This will check for issues in your rectum & lower colon & will pick up any abnormalities if there’s anything there.

The symptoms you’re experiencing, although understandably worrying, could be down to any number of things but it’s completely natural to feel this way & with your health anxiety you will obviously be thinking the worst, I have experience of a friend that suffers this & understand the impact it can have on a persons life! 

Anal cancer is generally a slow growing cancer & you’re getting checked out as soon as you’ve begun showing any unusual symptoms so you’re doing everything right. Hopefully this will turn out to be something & nothing & will have an easy fix. 

Nicola 

Hi Mummyofthree and welcome, you've done absolutely the right thing by going to your GP to check this out. Your symptoms could be due to a lot of non-cancerous conditions and whilst anal cancer is rare, it's always best to get a diagnosis to rule this out.  This type of cancer has a high cure rate and as with all cancers the earlier it is caught the better.    Now that the prospect of it being cancer is in your head, you're starting to picture the worst case scenario which is totally normal. Before my diagnosis, I convinced myself that it had spread to my lungs and had a massive panic attack one night about this. It was awful. I was given Propanolol to help with the anxiety before my results came back (I had a biopsy). When they came back I was so relieved that my lung scan showed no sign of spread. In your case it would be unusual for it to have spread by now, this is a fairly slow growing cancer. I also went through a period of lower back pain and ended up thinking it had spread to my bones, which it hadn't. Like you, I'm always looking at Dr Google but the best sites to look at are reputable cancer charity sites, like Macmillan. Please do come on here whenever and share your worries. Hopefully this will turn out to be a false alarm but if not, you will have an early diagnosis and an extremely good chance of a full recovery x

Hi Nikki, 

thankyou for reading my post and replying to me. 

Dr google is so easy to access it’s like my head and my hands are on two different bodies and I can’t control myself to stop going on there. I know this is bad for my mental health and I do have good days and extremely bad days with accessing it. 

It is nice to speak to somebody that understands health anxiety and the impact it has. Although I have support From friends and family I feel like they don’t understand. But then maybe if they had to give advice to someone regarding it they would think back about my difficulties. Maybe I am not giving them enough credit for supporting me. In my head I just feel like nobody is listening or understanding, but I guess it’s hard to support to a certain extent when in my head whatever anybody says to me doesn’t in fact reassure me until I have had all the appropriate tests done. 

the fact you have said anal cancer is slow growing has put my mind at rest a little. I didn’t actually know this(something I haven’t found on google). I can only hope and pray that it is something far less sinister than the worst possible outcome. 

thankyou again for Taking the time to read my post and replying xx

Hi 1in1500

Thankyou for reading my post and replying to me. I’m sorry to hear you have had to go through this awful disease. I hope you are on the mend now.
I am literally just like that, I’m convinced it’s either in my ovaries or in my stomach. I am absolutely terrified of the outcome in just over a weeks time. I have 3 young children and to have news like that would be devastating. I really am hoping and praying it’s something that can be easily treated. It’s at the point now I’m even googling colours of stool, textures of stool, just anything that can give me a different answer. And I know most websites will always have cancer on it but I don’t know how to stop myself from worrying that it’s always worst case. I have been through this twice before, once 3 years ago where I was convinced I had breast cancer and kept on at the GP to refer me for a whole year to find out all I had was a fatty lump. Then again at the beginning of this year I convinced I had lung cancer so forced my doctor to refer me which he did. Had X-rays, blood tests and even a heart ecg and all came back clear. Now I’m convinced that this is the third time and I’m not going to be so lucky this time Round. Sorry for badgering on so much to you. 

xxx

Hi, you’re not badgering on at all, I only wish I had known about this forum earlier than I did. I know you say you have health anxiety but, I do think you were correct to get the breast lump checked out, I don’t know the circumstances in relation to the lung cancer but again, it is always best to get things checked out. The impact of unresolved physical issues has an important bearing on mental health which can’t be ignored. When I went through this last year I prepared for the worst and hoped  for the best. That C word is very scary and like you say is mentioned on a lot of websites when you google your symptoms for various conditions. You won’t feel completely at ease until you have had the procedure and get your results, this waiting period is very hard and there’s no way round it other than to try and keep as busy as possible with other things ( easier said than done I know), and to focus on the fact that anal cancer is rare so the odds are in your favour it isn’t cancer and even if it is, this is one of the ‘best’ cancers to get as the cure rate is high. Please feel free to ask for as much support on here and as often as you need, this is what we are here for. Xx

honestly this sounds more like a hemorrhoid that anything else to me. But good that you're getting it checked out! The itching, blood on toilet paper, sensation of a lump....plus you've had 3 babies so it def could be a hemorrhoid.  I know how challenging it can be not to google every single thing. We all do it. Especially when we first find out there's "something". This forum is so great and I wish I had known about it much, much sooner. I'm glad you came here for reassurrance and please update us when you can. All the best to you~Lynn

Hi teletubby. 

You have reassured me, I read this the other day and haven’t really thought much about my symptoms since. Although jumping from one part of the body to another I have found a small pea size moveable painless lump on the side of my neck. The same side my neck feels all tight and now iv convinced myself of something else. I just don’t know what to do because I feel like I am always calling the doctors and eventually I will be the story of “the boy who cried wolf” if that makes sense. I feel like the doctors are going to start getting really frustrated with me and not want to bother helping anymore. God anxiety sucks!! X

Hi, Mummyofthree since having the Big C last year I have had several issues that have made me think that I possibly has cancer elsewhere. These include having a small hard lump on my thigh and also a dodgy looking mole that I thought had grown. I decided to give each thing 1 month and then I would go to the docs if I was still concerned. Fortunately, the lump has now softened and the mole hasn't grown. Sometimes things do settle but  if not then its  best to get things checked out. It's very difficult having anxiety as things do seem magnified. I hope all goes well at your procedure on the 21st xx

Hi 1in1500

its extremely hard having the anxiety, it literally makes me google everything. The last couple of days the front of my neck and some of the surrounding areas have felt tight, it’s hard to explain over here. I took myself to the pharmacist who has never really heard of what I am trying to explain but put it down to tense muscles plus the anxiety. I also spoke To my health visitor as she knows what I am going through and she believes it’s anxiety too, but this doesn’t stop me from thinking that something is seriously wrong. It’s taking over my life. All I hear people say is don’t worry until there’s something to worry about. I just can’t do that. It’s exhausting. 

how are you? I feel like iv been going on about myself and not asked a single person how they are doing! 

xx