Worry impacting on my mental health, family history of c

Hi  

I'm 35, in July I had a mri scan as awaiting a back operation, during this scan they noticed a possible benign uterine polyp and the requested my gp do referral to gynaecology, I have close family history of cancer with my dad having bladder & kidney cancer age 48 and his sister bowel cancer age 43 then liver cancer,lung & brain and passed aged 45.I am diagnosed with many mental illnesses being bpd,health and general anxiety, ocd intrusive thoughts, depressive disorder & panick disorder so I'm now in a complete mess, the worrying cause a mental health relapse. 
I was referred end of October & within 2 weeks of referral I had an ultrasound scan, it's been 4 weeks and have been trying to chase results, my gp has no knowledge of the ultrasound, I finally got to speak to my consultants receptionist yesterday who told be I'm not on the system yet as the waiting  time for referrals is running currently at 30 weeks! She said I will then receive an appointment for the consultant to descuss scan results with me, she also said "because it's a possible benign polyp that means non cancerous so there's no rush to see me" and that the ultrasound results have not yet been reviewed by the constant because im still in the referral process  

I have constant dull heavy ness constantly with odd sharp twinges in my lower stomach, watery discharge, very heavy periods with large clots and back pain 

questions running through my head-

with close family history should i been seen sooner a biopsy be taken sooner?

how do they know it's benign when I've had no tests and the ultrasound hadn't been checked yet ? 

if there is nothin actually there why is the wait so long ( 30 weeks) and an appointment wasted which could be for someone else? 
sorry for such a long post, I hope it makes sence I just can't cope with the worry because of my family cancer history 

 

 

  • Hello Lauren0704 and a warm welcome to Cancer Chat, 

    I am so sorry to hear about how worried you have been recently and how this has affected your mental health. You have lost so many loved ones to cancer at a young age that it is completely understandable you are feeling so anxious at the moment. 

    I can imagine you are going through such a stressful time trying to chase these results and it must be so frustrating to feel you are not getting anywhere. It's reassuring though that they seem convinced that it is a benign non cancerous polyp so try if you can to focus on this and but I can understand why you would want definite answers based on your actual results. Given that your family history of cancer is such a big source of anxiety for you, it would be worth getting in touch with your GP just to address that and ask your doctor all these questions you are asking yourself. Mention that you are feeling really worried and ask whether they can tell you more about your risks based on this family history. I think it would also be a good opportunity to talk about your mental health, how you are feeling at the moment and the fact that this is making you feel a lot worse and whether they have any suggestions to help you. 

    I hope that you will hear from other forum members who have been in a similar situation before and that they will be along shortly to share their experiences. It does help sometimes to talk to a sympathetic ear. 

    Keeping everything crossed for you that it all turns out to be confirmed as being benign and that you find out more very soon

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator