Worried

Hi this may seem melodramatic but causing extreme distress i'm a 19 year old male the past 2 generations of my family have had thyroid cancer both women If that makes a difference but I've been getting weird sensations all down the cartilage in the front of my neck and also a kind of mild but really annoying pain in my thyroid/adams apple area when I lay down and the paid seems to radiate to my jaw and deep in my ear.

Recently I've noticed my adam's apple is off centre and it's really worrying me also I get bad pain in the back of my neck (which is also extremely hard to touch) and in my shoulder blades and spine area also I get a horrible feeling in my adam's apple when I yawn and pains in my right arm and a twitching feeling under my armpit when I cough or clear my throat (I can also see my epiglottis in my throat I'm not sure if this is normal) I've had blood tests done as 111 advised me to and they have come back clear but I've heard thyroid cancer isn't detected by blood tests?

Any advice for me as it's almost impossible to get a appointment with my doctor as he's un-interested in my symptoms because I'm young and I take sertiline for anxiety all he says to me is 'the pain is probably your anxiety' over the phone aswell he won't even examine me! I'm in pain from the moment I wake up to the moment is sleep which is about 3 hours a night so it's also playing a massive toll on my mental health being in pain/worrying for 20 odd hours a day advice would be appreciated

Sorry this is long and may seem like an over reaction but  I really don't know what to do anymore I'm sick of this pain and worrying its to the point I've had to quit my job and become quite lazy  because I physically can't do many activities without my head or body telling me there's something wrong thanks

  • Hi Callum5565,

    It's good to hear you have spoken to the doctor - if you have medical concerns, they are the only ones who can advise. I would encourage you to listen to them as much as possible. If you have noticed new changes that you are concerned about, if they don't go away then you can always make an appointment to see the doctor - but if doing this, make the most of it and try to take reassurance from them.

    If you have health anxiety then this may be playing a role in how you are feeling. You may find it helpful to look through the NHS Every mind matters website, which has some helpful resources and tips for helping to cope with this.

    All the best,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hi Callum,

    Im sorry you're going through such a worrying time. 
    Im not sure if this will help you but I've had some issues with my thyroid for the past seven years including a partial thyroidectomy to remove the left side of my thyroid due to a large multinodular growth. 
    Initially my symptoms appeared quite suddenly upon returning from a holiday and my neck area has swelled considerably over a matter of days. My doctor initially thought it was a glandular infection but after a week of antibiotics and no change I went back to the doctor and they then referred me to a consultant to get an ultrasound of my thyroid. Over the following 2 years  I had three Fine needle aspiration biopsies of my thyroid nodules all of which came back as non-cancerous. However my thyroid nodules continued to grow and when one of them reached 7cm in 2017 the consultant decided to operate and remove the left side.

    Fast forward to the present day and I have just had another ultrasound on my neck and thyroid as I have two swollen lymph nodes on the right side of my neck and pain in my ears, jaw & neck with some other symptoms for the past eight weeks. I am feeling very anxious at the moment myself as I fear it could be thyroid or some other form of cancer. 

    My advice to you is to try and not let your fear take over your thoughts. Even if your thyroid is enlarged it is probably not going to cause you any immediate danger. Get in touch with your doctor again if you are continually feeling unwell But if you are not getting anywhere with your doctor you could look at changing practices to a new doctor. If you are feeling well generally then try to focus on that and be open with yourself about the symptoms you definitely have. 
     

    I hope my story helped a little bit,

    all the best -Gracie 

  • Thank you Gracie this has helped put my mind to rest a little, I have a gp appointment tomorrow because my mental health doctor has been pushing it for me so he's helped. Thanks for your reply and I hope all is okay with your health but I'm sure it is:)