# Anxiety Disorders > Hypochondria (Health Anxiety) >  >  Do you worry about cancer?

## Hamster

Do you ever worry about getting cancer or other disease?

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## L

No not really

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## Evo1114

I never used to until my dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer.  Granted, his was caused from smoking for 40-some years, but family history always makes the concern much greater.

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## Otherside

Yes. At one point I was having pretty bad headaches, dizzyness, nausea, blurred vision. So what did I do? I used Dr.Google. Idiot. It told me that my symptoms were the cause of a brain tumour.My GP told me otherwise. Migranes, it seems.  I also have a wart on the back of my neck and I'm constantly checking that to see if it grows, convinced that it's skin cancer or something...

I've had to calm down a bit though lately. I've had a whole load of blood tests, ECG's, blood pressure tests, whole array of medical tests lately and they're all coming back fine. Huntingdons disease is the one I'm worrying about now, for some reason. For some reason. I think I've been misdiagnosed as bipolar and I actually have Huntingdons...





> Behavioural changes are often the first symptoms to appear in Huntington's disease and can be the most distressing. These symptoms often include:
> a lack of emotions and not recognising the needs of others in the familyalternating periods of aggression, excitement, depression, apathy, antisocial behaviour and angerdifficulty concentrating on more than one task, which causes irritabilityshort-term memory lapsesproblems with orientation
> A person with Huntington's may display a lack of drive, initiative and concentration that may make them appear lazy. This is not the case: it is just the way the disease affects their personality. Someone with Huntington's may also develop a lack of interest in hygiene and self-care.



Now the psychiatric/Behavorial problems are the only problems I have. I don't really have any of the problems with speech, movement...so I'm having to reason with myself a bit that I don't have Huntingdons. Huntingdons is pretty rare. I guess I need to stop panicking, really.

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## Equinox

Not really, which is actually kind of surprising to me since I had to look after my step father as he was dying of cancer when I was 11 years old, and thus witnessed what it can look like at an early age.

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## Antidote

> Now the psychiatric/Behavorial problems are the only problems I have. I don't really have any of the problems with speech, movement...so I'm having to reason with myself a bit that I don't have Huntingdons. Huntingdons is pretty rare. I guess I need to stop panicking, really.



I'm pretty sure for you to have Huntington's one of your parents would have to have it, and if they did, you'd probably know by now since it tends to become symptomatic by the time one is in their 40s. 

I do worry about cancer but not excessively because I've kind of desensitised to it since it's constantly mentioned in the media. It's a very common disease. But the common stuff doesn't scare me as much as the rarer stuff. I've always been more distressed by neurodegenerative disease (though I've gotten much better with it), and EDS. The latter one utterly terrifies me because I'm quite certain I have it. I don't even like to say or write the whole name of it.

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## Fizzy Doom

A lot  ::(:

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## compulsive

> Yes. At one point I was having pretty bad headaches, dizzyness, nausea, blurred vision. So what did I do? I used Dr.Google. Idiot. It told me that my symptoms were the cause of a brain tumour.My GP told me otherwise. Migranes, it seems.  I also have a wart on the back of my neck and I'm constantly checking that to see if it grows, convinced that it's skin cancer or something...
> 
> I've had to calm down a bit though lately. I've had a whole load of blood tests, ECG's, blood pressure tests, whole array of medical tests lately and they're all coming back fine. Huntingdons disease is the one I'm worrying about now, for some reason. For some reason. I think I've been misdiagnosed as bipolar and I actually have Huntingdons...
> 
> 
> 
> Now the psychiatric/Behavorial problems are the only problems I have. I don't really have any of the problems with speech, movement...so I'm having to reason with myself a bit that I don't have Huntingdons. Huntingdons is pretty rare. I guess I need to stop panicking, really.



The only thing you can do is a test if there is one. But saying this, even I could think I "fit" all of these symptoms, even though we know that isn't true. Criteria isnt really a good indicator due to the lack of clarity . It doesn't tell you what it means by "short term memory lapses" and "problems with orientation". Pretty much you would need to read story's of people who have experienced it to even get an idea of what these symptoms mean. Also of course someone who has bipolar disorder has alternating moods. 

Take pictures of the wart perhaps once a week and document it. Make sure its a good picture. This should help with the checking. You should not need to check all of the time if you have proof of what is happening.

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## Misssy

I've had cancer. I don't worry about it. We are all going to die. What I worry about is the fact that I haven't lived.

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## shyVr6

My Grandpa died of prostate cancer, so that has crossed my mind a few times.

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## Vexedex

Everyday.
A few members of my family have had cancer, and one has died.

I get headaches a lot, and I worry that I might have a brain tumour.

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## Ironman

I worry about tailbone cancer sometimes, but it doesn't consume me.

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## WintersTale

I have before, but I hope that I never do. That's the best I can do.

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## WineKitty

To some degree, yes.  I didn't used to worry about that at all but it's become more of a thought since developing a medical issue recently.

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## pam

I used to worry about it all the time when I was younger, but not anymore. I quit smoking just before I turned 40 (5 yrs ago), and it dawned on me that "Great, now I have to worry about dying from something else now!" 

No, seriously, I will have a heart attack when I'm older because I have 2 defects in it that I was born with. Or I will have an accident like most people. 

Last summer my cousin who never smoked/drank died from stomach & esophagus cancer on his 33rd birthday. Life is definitely not fair at all, and death never makes sense. 

I agree with Misssy that I'm more worried about how I'm not living the way I could have.

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## Antidote

Changed my mind. Given the right triggers I worry about everything, including cancer.

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## life

no, i dont worry about getting cancer or anything else, we all have to die sometime :/

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## sanspants

I...yeah, I worry about it sometimes. Spray-painting is part of my hobby and even though I wear a respirator, some fumes inevitably get through there. Also, I used to smoke, and I grew up with secondhand smoke all my life, so it's my lungs I sometimes worry about. My mother had breast cancer, maternal grandfather died of prostate cancer, and so on. 

It helps that I work at a hospital, so if anything weird starts to happen I have plenty of people to talk to about it.

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## Ironman

Occasionally.  I am a secondhand smoke person, too.

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## Heelsbythebridge

There's no history of cancer in my family, except one case of testicular cancer for my dad. I wish I could develop cancer so I can finally go kill myself, but yeah, there's like a 0.00000000001% chance of me developing it.

My family aren't a bunch of health addicts either. A ton of fried food, sugar, other crap in our diets; frying in the sun; the stuff you're supposed to avoid if you don't want cancer. And yet they're all living to ripe old ages or dying of other causes.

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## GunnyHighway

Cancer isn't something that's prevalent in either side of my family. However, my dad's side has a long history of Alzheimer's and *that* is probably the scariest thing I can think of.

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## Keddy

All the time  ::(: 
I think I just have major hypochondria in general...

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## Kirsebaer

I mostly worry about a loved one getting cancer... I think I'm more scared of losing a loved one than dying.

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## Rawr

Yes. It greatly runs in the family. One cousin had breast cancer & another has colon cancer. Then my mother had cervical cancer. The most popular in my family is skin cancer. Eventually the cancer train is gonna hit me. That's why I make sure I have an all over Physical each year to make sure.

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## FireIsTheCleanser

I've been scared of skin cancer for a while. Ever since I've found out what skin cancer is. I think two of my relatives have had cancer but it wasn't skin and they weren't direct family (i.e siblings, parents, grandparents etc.), they were like second uncles or aunts. I'm pretty sure I won't ever get it but if it turns out I did, I wouldn't be surprised.

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## fordaisy

Yes, ever since my father died of colon cancer when I was 12 years old I have been terrified of it and been thinking I have it. If I hurt any where I think I have stage 4 that has spread. I'm thinking I have it right now cause I haven't been feeling well lately. Last summer I ran to the Emergency cause I thought I was having a heart attack. They ran a bunch of tests, gave me some ativan and sent me home with an anxiety problem. 
When all else fails hug your dog    :Dog:

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## Antidote

I wonder why people worry far more about cancer than cardiovascular disease. You're most likely to die from one or the other, but cancer elicits way more fear and pity. Maybe because it usually causes more physical pain?

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## GunnyHighway

Sad coming back to this thread and reading my last post. My aunt's step-father was diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer. Not technically my family but they've acted more like family than my actual family ever since I got to Calgary.

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## Chantellabella

Nope. 

My therapist actually showed me a video once of a guy who has proven that when we worry about certain things, it triggers dormant stuff in our bodies like cancer. The most I got out of the video was something about olives (wasn't listening much), but the gist of it was that we all have things that lie dormant in our bodies from hereditary or environment. If we obsess enough we release something (not sure what he said), that can trigger the very genetic or environmental thing we are trying to avoid. 

I'm not saying he's right, but it helped me stop worrying about things so much.

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## Lunaire

This sometimes worries me... Unfortunately I have known a good number of people who have gotten it.

I think the thing that bothers me most is that you can get it suddenly and with little to no warning.

Sure, there are things that you can do which will help reduce your risk (healthy diet, exercise, etc.) but even then it can still happen.

I look forward to the day when we have finally been able to rid ourselves of this illness!  ::(:

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## Otherside

I worry a lot less than when I posted previously in here. (I also no longer think I have Huntingdons, thankfully). Yes, it could happen one day. But at least I don't spend every single day worrying that every little symptom is a sign that I have cancer. Besides, I've had a load of medical tests lately. They're all clear for anything like that.

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## Lunaire

> I worry a lot less than when I posted previously in here. (I also no longer think I have Huntingdons, thankfully). Yes, it could happen one day. But at least I don't spend every single day worrying that every little symptom is a sign that I have cancer. Besides, I've had a load of medical tests lately. They're all clear for anything like that.



I'm really happy to hear that you have had success in not worrying about it so much anymore!

I'm sure that having positive medical tests has helped relieve some of that too. 

 :sparkles:

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## stuck1nhead

Well, I always imagined that I would die of something. You can't escape death; just greet him as a old friend.

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6560 using Tapatalk

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## fetisha

yeah I worry about it a lot more now since my mom had it this year ( she is free from it now) and I have done stuff that causes cancer in the past but all of my results from the doctor come out normal.

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## MobileChucko

When I had my initial bout with panic disorder and panic attacks, I was sure I had some neurological condition, and that included a brain tumor (Cancer).  Once I had a good healthcare team behind me, was on antidepressant therapy, and learned cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), that all passed...

I'm not saying that those fears might not resurface in the future, but one thing I have changed is to do my best to live in the present, and not to project into future days.  I do all I can to live for today, live in the moment.  My life is much calmer when I do that.

The very best to everyone!...  Chuck :Victory:

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## PinkButterfly

Yes everyday every waking hour.  ::(:  I get so scared I will hear you are dying.

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## lethargic nomad

Take your pick: heart attack/stroke or cancer.  If one doesn't get you then the other will.   Looks like a few lucky ones get Alzheimer's, emphysema, or diabetes complications.

https://www.cdc.gov/injury/images/lc..._1050w760h.gif

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## PinkButterfly

so true something will get us life does end here on earth I just do not want to suffer I know I will die but pain is bad.

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