fear of pancreatic cancer ruining my life

[bizzy44]

Good Morning I am new here and looking for some support. I am a male 28 years old been pretty fit my whole. Anyways about 9 months ago I started having pains in my stomach and back also I have had loose stools. I went to the dr and had blood work and a ct scan done but I live in fear everyday because I am certain I have pancreatic cancer. I know how rare it is to have it at this age and also thought it would be comforting that I had a ct scan but its not. I have resulted to drinking everyday and my life is really unenjoyable for my family. IDK what to do.

[Hidden]

Didn’t I see you were diagnosed with gastritis and on are medication for that? What is making a fairly fit guy such as yourself feel like you have pancreatic cancer? Why can’t you trust your doctors advice?

Out of concern, the drinking alcohol isn’t going to be of any benefit to your gastritis and what long term abuse does to the liver or pancreas.

Your very young, if your fixation on this isn’t something you can resolve on your own, I’d look into therapy.

[bizzy44 in reply to Hidden]

I cant explain why I fear this. I think it has something to do with anxiety in general and my mothers diagnosis last year. I should be able to trust my dr. I was referred to therapist but with all this going on I cant get an appointment anytime soon. i wish i didn't fill this way but i feel doomed.

[Hidden in reply to bizzy44]

Look online or virtual doctor. They are now pooping up a lot, even in my state in the US they are advertising virtual appointments. You can book an appointment with your referral therapist in the meantime.

I completely understand now your fears/feelings since there is family history. I think you need to talk about this with someone qualified to help you work through pain, grief, etc. Your not doomed, you just need a way to process and manage. 🌺💜

[bizzy44 in reply to Hidden]

i know a lot of private dr and stuff are doing that but i don't think the military medical has caught up to that yet it is something i will look into thank you

[i-love-tea]

Hi I'm new here too. Did your CT scan come back clear?...... Do you still have the symptoms, pain loose stools......

Assuming everything came back clear, I'd probably be thinking about speaking with someone if the fear won't leave you. I understand fears like that, they can take you over justified or not, but drinking isn't going to help anyone, including your pancreas...

I lived with drinkers my whole life, and understand the joy gets sucked out of life completely.

It sounds to me like you have a serious fear, and until you can lower and understand that fear it will grow, in my experience. The drinking will get worse.......

Can you speak with a trusted friend? or a dr?.... ask for some counselling?....

my anxieties have been through the roof and beyond recently and some of the thoughts and worries I have, realistically, are ridiculous. I can't see that until my anxieties lessen, then up it all pops again.

i'm sending hugs, positivity, and maybe you could try cutting back on the drink a little? It's a depressant that deffo won't be helping your thought patterns.

Tea xx

[bizzy44 in reply to i-love-tea]

yes my ct scan was clear as well as all my blood work. im just having a difficult time. The pain is still there. I am having troubles getting past this fear. thank you for your reply.

[i-love-tea in reply to bizzy44]

I get the fear, it can feel impossible to deal with an just put away, I'd deffo be talking with someone. self medicating works for a while but that will cause health problems and family problems. That'd be so sad coming from a fear your struggling to control.

It's not your fault you feel this way so try reaching out for some help?......

Tea xx

[Dolphin14]

Have you talked to your mothers md? Get some advice regarding your concerns?

Maybe some more medical knowledge would help you.

Alcohol is not the answer. If you are worried about physical health put that stuff down.

[bizzy44 in reply to Dolphin14]

No kind of hard to talk to them since I am in the navy. Let m clarify a bit she didn’t have pancreatic cancer she had melanoma but I think that is what triggered my health anxiety

[Dolphin14 in reply to bizzy44]

Thank you for your service in the navy.

I'm sorry I misunderstood. I understand your fears. My sister had three types of cancers, all unrelated to each other.

The only thing I know I can do to help myself is eat right, exercise, don't smoke or drink, wear my sunscreen and have my yearly physical exams and screening tests. Doing those things may lower my odds.

Not sure what's available to you for therapy. It would be good to unload your stress and fears.

[bizzy44 in reply to Dolphin14]

therapy is available and I was scheduled for it until all this mess started. thank you for your response.

[Dolphin14 in reply to bizzy44]

Take care of yourself.

[Agora1 in reply to bizzy44]

Hi bizzy44, first of all, thank you for your service... I'm not a doctor but your

symptoms sound a lot like Irritable Bowel especially accompanied by anxiety.

Whenever anxiety takes over our thoughts, physical symptoms hit us where we

are most vulnerable. In your case it happens to be your gut. Did you know that

the gut is considered our second brain? That's because it reacts as our mind does

to scary thoughts. I would think when your mom was diagnosed with Melanoma

it triggered your fears to thinking, if it could happen to mom that I could have

Cancer as well. Once you focus on that, Anxiety takes off running with ruminating

thoughts of Catastrophic issues. And yet, all your tests have proven to be negative

with your doctor saying Gastritis.

As the others have said in their responses, alcohol is not the way to go or you

will have another problem..Liver issues.. There are medications that the doctor

can give you if needed to calm down the symptoms. However therapy as well as

talking with the forum can help with the anxiety issues. You want to nip this in the

bud as Health Anxiety can jump from one health crisis to another. Take care xx

[Princesspeach84]

I know exactly what you are going through as I thought I had pancreatic cancer 2/3 years ago. I started with yellow diarrhoea and stomach pains. I never go to drs but I was there 3 times a week. I had scans, I lost weight and got up in the night with diarrhoea. I was in a bad way, one day I woke up and couldn’t eat and was so weak. My dad drove me to A&E the drs were fantastic and I had full blood count and everything was fine. I still wasn’t happy so had an endoscopy convinced they would find something but nothing. I made an appt with my GP and he said it’s anxiety. I don’t have cancer as the blood count and scans would show so. The stomach pain is probably because I wasn’t eating properly and the diarrhoea is anxiety. Apparently your stomach is linked to your brain and you can easily ‘make yourself ill’. I started to relax and any advice I would have give having been in your shoes is talk. Talk to friends and family and learnt to laugh about your situation. Even now my family joke about me being a bit of a nutter 🤣 at the time it was so real but I came out the side and so can you

[bizzy44 in reply to Princesspeach84]

this is me. I can count on one hand how many times ive been to the dr wile ive been active duty before all this and then it was every week for a few months and I kept demanding more and more test and they never found anything wrong.

[Kiera49]

Try not to worry I have cancer and ct scan picked it up straight away, if you had it, it would have shown it on ct. There are other conditions that will fit your symptoms. Hope you get it sorted so you can relax

[bizzy44 in reply to Kiera49]

thank I do try not to worry...I saw the ct scan my self and the dr explained everything to me and all and I go back and review my records online just to read the part that says no acute findings but im not sure htat helps at this point.

[Natsteveo]

Hi bizzy

You’ve come to the right place

Listen sweetie I have the biggest fear of this too because my lovely mum died of this at the young age of 56 years old... it’s a horrible one believe me it is I watched my mum suffer so bad and she then passed in my arms after being diagnosed 7 weeks before...?? So you had a scan 9 months ago and your still with us well that’s a good sign in my eyes... but alcohol isn’t the answer and can cause more damage in the long run.. you could have pancreatitis which causes those symptoms you have or you could just have absolutely nothing but when we fear it it actually controls you don’t it I know how that is to live with but if your worried go get it checked out but Turning to drink will cause you problems that you really don’t need or even find answers... I’ve just read all of this and with your mum having melanoma it’s triggered a fear in you that you didn’t know you had.. my health anxiety and depression kicked in with my mums diagnoses every pain I had I thought oh god I’ve got pancreatic cancer now because it’s traumatic knowing your mum has this has traumatised you..but the things they can do now with all these clinical trials and cures to do with melanoma and other diagnoses there’s hope sweetheart...you probably have ptsd too and don’t even know it ...thank you for your service too and try look into cbt therapy that’s good for health anxiety and depression as it learns us how to re-think things

Nat xx

Nat

[bizzy44 in reply to Natsteveo]

Thank you so much for your kind words it helps a lot. I know that I shouldn’t let this control me

[Dogdoo]

Could be pancreatic insufficiency, where your pancreas doesn't make enough enzymes to digest food properly.

Don't know if your exam covered this.

Just a side note, my father is in his 3rd year of remission from pancreatic cancer.

Completely healthy after a Whipple procedure and chemo. No sign of recurrence anywhere.

[bizzy44 in reply to Dogdoo]

I know they ran some test on my pancreas and said it was fine and the ct scan didn't see anything.

That is great to hear about your father!

[Jow27 in reply to bizzy44]

Hi, hope you are feeling better, have your health problems resolved themselves?

[Gwendy]

Hello Bizzy44, I hope your feeling better, its natural to worry about our health, but your doing much better than most people who have actually been diagnosed with a cancer, you could be in someone else's shoes. ie, mine, I'm in lock down, lost my mother to lung cancer just a couple of years ago and had a letter just a few days ago, telling me that my pancreatic cyst is stable. What pancreatic cyst, I'm thinking, because I saw the expert a few months ago and he couldn't imagine why I was sent to see him, for something wrong with my liver. I'm still optimistic which is amazing beings I underwent brain surgery to remove a cyst in 2017. Sort yourself out love.

[bizzy44]

well your right I have it better than most people as I have not received an official diagnosis, but that doesn't it make it any easier anxiety controls my life

[Jow27]

Hi Bizzy44, how are your symptoms now, did you find out what the problem was?

[bizzy44 in reply to Jow27]

I have not found out anything new