So scared I have cancer that I can barely function as I wait

I am hoping to be as brief as possible however just want to add some background to my issues... I am a 42 year old male that was very healthy up until about 3 weeks ago. Around that time I began to have a feeling of acid in my mouth that would not go away unless I was eating or brushed my teeth. I hoped it would simply go away after a few days but didn't so I saw my GP who prescribed me a PPI which I have been taking for 2 weeks now. Several days after that visit I was out of town and started experiencing sever abdominal pain that was made worse when I pressed into my adbdomen just below the sternum. This caused me to go to the ER as I was frightened. While at the ER I had several blood tests and a contrast CT scan. Upon examination and the tests all being clear I was sent home with Gastritis and currently taking Carafate. That was last Tuesday and I am still suffering. The sour taste still persists and I am severely bloated. I was constipated for almost a week and my doctor gave me a cleanse to clear me out yesterday. It took a while but I think most of what was in me cleared out however I am still really bloated today and all I see on the internet points to possible stomach or colon cancer based on my symptoms. I just can't wrap my head around why I am not improving and why I would be so bloated even after all those laxatives. No blood in my stool that I am aware of but my stomach continues to make noises and gas seems to be trapped quite a bit. The worst part of all is I can't get my endoscopy and colonoscopy for 3 weeks so between now and then will be hell. I have to force myself to eat as it is and I just can't stop thinking about all of this. Hoping someone can shed a silver lining here because I am ready to lose it. I do have horrible health anxiety (20 years strong) and this is probably the worst state I have been in. Thanks for letting me vent.

  • I've been there over the summer. Just had my colonoscopy this day last week and as you can see from my post below (probably better if you don't check it), a part of me is still a bit worried, even though it was completely negative. I have never had health anxiety before, although I was always nervous about health things, but this seems to have sparked something.

    My symptoms were rectal bleeding, gassiness, occasional loose stools and possibly a bit of weight loss (not quite sure; the scales are saying I've lost weight but there is no change in the fit of my clothes and it's over the course of...maybe a year and a half) and I got a completely negative colonoscopy apart from some hemorrhoids.

    What I was reading online was saying "rectal cancer" but the doctor and specialist both basically poo-poohed it. The specialist said that at our age (I'm 40), I'd have to be the unluckiest person in the world, that the odds of cancer at my age are less than 1% and when I asked how worried I should be, his response was "zero; not at all."

  • Hi cramerb535, 

    I'm so sorry you're feeling this way. The waiting really is the worst. I'm so sorry if this is out of line but I have my work hat on at the moment - I'm a nutritionist. Is there a possible connection to food? My sister had the exact symptoms your describing and it turns out she developed a dairy and gluten intolerance, which is quite bizarre. She kept a food diary and started eliminating dairy and gluten and she cleared up in around 2 weeks! 

    I know this might not ease your worries as you wait for tests but it might give you a wee focus, something to try while you wait? 

    C x