New member - need some help...

[Brian]

I a 26 year old male, married with 2 kids. My mom passed away in 1986 when I was six years old of some rare type of cancer (wilms tumor). For the last several years, especially since my son was born in August of 2006, I have been scared I will develop cancer. I think about it constantly. I have been jacked physically and mentally the last several months. In November of 2006 I started feeling lethargic and had strange pains on my right abdominal/kidney area.I was sure I had some type of stomach cancer or kidney cancer. FYI -  I have had a couple of odd lumps in that general vicinity for a few years, doctors felt those prior and said they were fatty deposits or something like that. Anyhow, this pain was new. My doctor checked me out and did a urine sample to make sure there wasn't any blood. Everything seemed fine so she said it  was in my head but she didn't take blood samples. I ended up feeling better  right after. In December I started feeling tired again and just overall scared that something was wrong with me. I tried to ignore it and chalked it up to anxiety but a couple of weeks ago I started having unbearable insomnia. Nothing would work, I tried taking 3 Tylenol PM's and 2 Flexirils one night..and I only slept 2 hours. I finally got the nerve to get back to the doctor because I was so tired. They did some blood work this time and gave me Ambien. The Ambien hasnt worked for crap. My CBC came back normal but my testosterone level was low and so was my thyroxine levels. Could that be cancer or something? I still can't sleep well. They want me to go see an endocronologist or something like that but I am scared to death that something is totally f'd up. Since that CBC was normal does rule out cancer? Or can the testosterone and thyroid issue mean something is way wrong?

[tazmah]

hello and welcome 

generally if there is cancer it should show in your cbc.  I know anxiety can cause insomnia for sure.  I think you will be o.k.  it sounds like the rest of us you are just over tuned to everything your body is feeling.

hang in there!! You are not alone!!

[theunrealme]

It's ironic when children come along, how we begin to perceive things differently. I am hypersensitive to any anxiety symptom that I may have, actually worse since having my second child. Where friends of mine may blow off feelings of ,"something just isnt right", I go into full protective mode and get every test done imanginable. For, peace of mind, I tell people, but I think all this constant "thinking" is doing it's toll on my body.
Your doing what we all do when something just doesnt feel right with our bodies and there is nothing wrong with that. HOpefully, your doctor knows about heritary issues pertaining cancer and they hopefully will do a complete workup to rule it all out. My brother had some fatty tissue areas in his abd and the dr. said it was nothing to worry about. Going to the endocrinologist is a good thing, they'll rule out anything pertaining to your hormone levels. Once you get that checked out, STOP. If they find nothing. STOP. You'll just drive yourself more crazy. If you havent done a lot of reading on the hypocondria thread, start reading, hopefully that will help and see what other people are doing to keep anxiety at bay. Good luck.                                                      d

[Brian]

Thanks for the responses. The worst part about all of this is the insomnia. I feel like a frickin zombie. I haven't slept much at all over the last 2 weeks. And with the results of my testosterone levels being so low it has gotten worse. I read somewhere that stress and anxiety can cause testosterone levels to drop but I also read that prostate cancer can cause it as well. Of course being the sick mental guy I am I choose to believe the prostate cancer. I just wish I could get some sleep. Thanks again for the responses.