Can't shake the feeling I have cancer... help?

Greetings all.

I am a 30 year old trans-woman (pre op, no HRT yet), and over the course of the last 2-3 years, I haven't been able to shake off the feeling that I may have cancer, somewhere in my body.
Every day, at least once or twice, I always think about it.

I don't even know where to begin...
So, I smoked for 10 years, between 2009-2019. Roughly a 20 box a day (or the equivalent in hand-rolled cigarettes).
In 2019, I turned to vaping, in a bid to quit smoking. Thankfully, I haven't smoked a cigarette since. And now I'm only on 6mg (per 10ml bottle) of nicotine. So, the intake has been heavily cut down.
Also, I think it's worth mentioning that I had a problem with energy drinks between 2014 and 2019. I would drink roughly 4 cans a day. Dropped those too.
I have lived a somewhat sedentary lifestyle (until this year) for the last 8 (maybe?) years. Only going out skateboarding, or for a walk occasionally. But still doing daily shop runs.
Recently, I began to do exercise. Following suit from dropping my bad habits, to better my health. (Much needed as I need to lose some weight, seriously).

Where does the cancer come in?
First of all, back in 2014, I noticed a lump forming in the dead center of my chest, just beneath my pectorals.
I had this examined 3 years ago after it had grown quite a bit, and the nurse practitioner told me that it is very likely to be a lipoma. There's another lump towards the left of my ribs that is pea-sized that had formed not long before the examination, and the same thing was said about that. As the lumps aren't 'irregular'. (They're round and firm, and move a little under the skin).

Now, in the last two years, I have noticed that my bowel movements have went to pot.
Sometimes, I poop twice a day. Sometimes, I poop twice a week.
My stool is never consistent either. Most times, it is soft and mushy with a yellow hue (and smells absolutely foul), sometimes it may just be mucusy liquid, and very rarely I get a somewhat good-enough formed stool that is light brown.
Accompanying this half of the time, I get sharp stomach cramps. As soon as I get one of these cramps, I know it's time to go, and have to rush to the toilet.
Also, when I wipe, there's about a 60% chance there will be blood (likely caused by some sort of irritation, as I don't wipe gently, and my rectum stings a little when the blood is present).
Again, had this seen to a couple of years ago. Three times. 
First time, I described my symptoms, the doctor pinned it simply on IBS - I had my suspicions that's what it may be, and left it at that. Until the pain got worse about a year later, and I started feeling like I wasn't having complete movements. I had an anal examination at a hospital, and again, doctor said there was nothing dubious in my rectal canal, and that it was probably fecal impaction. Some time later, I began getting really bad pains all over my abdomen and rang 111. And was told (you guessed it) - IBS.
I'm beginning to believe that it may actually be Crohn's Disease? Given the absolute state of my bowel movements.

With my guts being my main concern right now, I also get pains in my left armpit, my left pectoral, in the left ribs, and the top corners of my stomach/abdomen (not the middle). And only in the last month or two, I have noticed that I get a pain in the center of my back and off to the left, that feels like a knot. I have put this down to possibly bad posture and age.

And as a minor concern (and the last one), I am rather flatulent.
I burp and fart to a 9:1 ratio, which may result in heartburn on the off-chance.
I have only been belching this badly for the last 2-3 years, and again, when consulting a doctor about some sharp chest pains, they told me that gas may be ricocheting off my diaphragm, and dispersing through my chest at speed, causing the pain.

TL;DR: I get a lot of pains around my chest and abdomen that I cannot explain. My bowel movements are shoddy, off-colour and foul-smelling. I have lumps that I can feel around my chest and abdomen. And I belch way more than a person should, that sometimes brings on heartburn.

I will close this post with this;
I have seen/rang doctors many times over the last 3 years regarding each separate ailment. And as I said, each time, I was given some explanation, and I feel like they're downplaying my issues. The only test I've ever had for any of this, is a finger up the backside.
I thought I would turn to a community who may be able to share some experiences, or shed some light on what I may be going through, as the anxiety is killing me.

A huge thank you in advance.
-Mira

  • Hello Mira

    I'm sorry to hear that you've been dealing with a number of ongoing health problems. It's understandable that you're feeling anxious about things. 

    Unfortunately, no one here will be able to tell you what may be causing these ailments. You've mentioned that you've spoken with a number of Doctors on a few occasions over the past few years about the individual issues. Do get back in touch with your GP to raise your concerns with them. It may be that you want to write a list ahead of your appointment so that you can mention all the problems that you've been experiencing and your concerns. 

    I do hope that you get some answers soon and that your GP is able to help improve things for you. 

    Best wishes,
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator