Paranoid about cancer always

Hi 

Little background on me. My dad passed away from pancreatic cancer 3 years ago. He sadly was diagnosed very late and died 9 months after diagnosis, watching it was horrible to witness and I'm definitely very scarred from it. Fast forward a bit and now my step dad has secondary cancer in his bones from his prostate cancer, currently getting chemo and doing well but nonetheless still hard as we know it's terminal and we don't know how much time we have with him . My nan is also going for a breast scan soon as she's been having pains. I feel like cancer is everywhere around me and I'm so paranoid that somebody else in my family is going to get cancer and I'm going to have witness what I went through with my dad. I'm also so paranoid that I'm going to get cancer and that I won't find out till it's too late and it's spread everywhere. 

I realised I sound a bit crazy but has anybody else felt like this ? Does anybody have any tips on how they got over this ? 

  • Hi Georgie,

    It definitely sounds like you've been through a seriously tough time, and it's no wonder you're starting to have thoughts about cancer. I think it's something that is quite common amongst family members of people with cancer but many don't talk about it as openly as you have, so well done for speaking up and recognising that these worries probably need to be heard.

    I recommend giving Macmillan a ring, or finding a therapist who specialises in cancer and bereavement, as they are trained to help people who have the exact thoughts you just described. So many people avoid services like this but they are incredible professionals who have the tools to help you manage this anxiety, as contrary to popular belief, it isn't always something you can manage by yourself. If you feel your anxiety is beginning to interfere with your daily life I might also suggest speaking to your GP and trying out anxiety medication as a temporary measure, if you feel that's something that would help. You didn't give your age, but if there is a family history of cancer you (and other family members) could be eligible for some cancer screenings and if you think it might alleviate some worries, you could look into getting that done for your own peace of mind - but this can sometimes exacerbate the anxiety.

    Whatever you choose to do going forward, make sure you keep talking about these thoughts and fears, sharing them is half the battle to coping with them. Wishing you all the best xx