Lymphoma? Leukemia? Melanoma? Testicular Cancer? AHHH!!!

[jenkyleg]

As the title suggests, I've feared the worst for all of this stuff. It all started in February when I felt a small BB-shaped object on top of my testicle (in my epididymis). I've gone to the doctor, they've determined it's not cancer...GREAT! Since then, however, I've, for whatever reason, decided I must have other types of cancer that include lymphoma (I recently palpated the pea-shaped lymph nodes on my neck and that freaks me out) leukemia (I wake up at night sometimes with a slightly sweaty chest), melanoma (I have a couple normal moles on my body, one of them has two colors in it) and every once in a while, testicular cancer (that BB shaped thing is still there and the doctors COULD be wrong, right?!). I've also dabbled in worrying lung cancer, stomach cancer, and kidney cancer, although I have relatively no relevant symptoms for any of those things besides run-of-the-mill things like slight coughs and the occasional abdominal pain after a workout.

Basically, I think I might have health anxiety. Anyone have any tips, thoughts, or shared experiences that might calm me down? My current (yet slight) symptoms are as follows:

Palpated neck nodes (tiny, moveable on each side)
Occasional muscular pain in my abs (probably from my gym workouts)
Waking up sweating at night, but not drenching my sheets or feeling particularly overheated
Had a slight, dry cough early this morning and then a little tonight for no reason. I recently got over a respiratory infection, but I should be good now. SOMEtimes I cough slightly after a workout.

Like I said, any insight will help me feel better. I try to explain these things to my girlfriend, and she thinks I'm a crazy person. Perhaps I AM  a crazy person. When does it get better? I always feel as though I'm on the cusp of developing something horrible.

Thanks!

[mollyfin]

Maybe a little crazy ;)  But we're all a little (or in my case, a lot) crazy or we wouldn't be here! 

Nothing you describe is alarming.  Your worries all sound pretty typical of health anxiety.  If your doctor isn't worried about your moles or your lumps, I highly doubt you need to be. 

Coughing is probably dry mouth/throat from breathing hard during your workouts and I'm guessing you're still mouthbreathing a little at night from your infection (even when I'm over colds and things I get congested while sleeping for a while after).  Night sweats can be caused by a number of things, but nearly everyone here seems to have had them at some point.  Anxiety is one cause.  Could also be a medication side effect, or sleeping with too much heat on/too many blankets. 

Good luck.  I hope you can find ways to put this behind you and move on. 

[jenkyleg]

Thanks for your input. I slept without a shirt last night and that seemed to make a world of difference in my sweating (I didn't sweat at all). I'm still slightly worried about lymphoma even though I don't think I have a reason to be. I figure, if you actually had cancer symptoms, you'd think they wouldn't be as ambiguous as whatever it is I think I feel. And lymphoma is rare in young people, right? I'm only 26. I work out for an hour at a time five days a week with no problem. If something like lymphoma or leukemia WAS wrong with me, you'd think I wouldn't be able to do that so easily.

Earlier today, I bent over while picking something up and felt my back "pop" with a lot of pain. It's probably a pulled muscle or a muscle strain, but you can bet my first thoughts revolved around some kind of herniated disc or spinal/abdominal tumor that "shifted" and made itself known suddenly and painfully. Regardless, my sore lower back is kind of my new obsession. I'm sure it'll be better in a few days.

I wish I could get over these thoughts, post-haste! This stuff gets better with time, right? I figure the best way to reason with yourself is to wait a while and not get sicker (or die). Hopefully I'll see the end of it at some point.

[Dayvid]

Sorry to hear you are so worried but have you ever heard of "Appendix of testis"?

Years ago i feared the worst when i felt this.. turns out it was JUST this. Little ridge/lump on top of testis.

I hope this can help and can clear your mind a bit...

[Dayvid]

By the way the "Appendix of testis" is something all (i think?) men have. It's not a problem, more of a feature.. 

[LindaRK]

Something else to ask your doc about - hydroceles.  Most men have them and don't even know it.  They can present themselves as nodes or small tumors in the testes.  They can come and go and are harmless.

My son had this last year - initially it was diagnosed as possible testicular cancer.  He had swelling and what felt like a tumor in his testes.  Unfortunately, an incorrect read by a radiologist caused him to have surgery and when they opened him up, nothing was there .....

Like I said - talk to your doc about hydroceles or even Google it.  Completely harmless.

[mollyfin]

That must have been scary for your son!  Thank god it turned out to be nothing. 

[jenkyleg]

Yeah! Glad it turned out okay for him. I can't imagine going through something like that. Testicular cancer, though EXTREMELY treatable (95% cure rate if caught in stage 1), has the added bonus of affecting an extra-sensitive part of your body.

Actually, testicular cancer is probably the least of my worries right now. The spherical mass wasn't on my actual testicle, it was on the epididymis "above" it. Though attached to the testicle, the epididymis is considered a separate structure, and because of the nature of the testicles, it's nearly impossible to find cancer there (unless by an extra-gonadal germ cell tumor, but those can occur anywhere in your body).

After palpating the region, the doctor said as long as my testicle felt smooth, slightly oval in shape, and firm with a little give, I had nothing to worry about. He also said that whatever he felt was most likely either an extra-testicular calcification or a epididymal cyst, both of which are two of the most common masses found in the scrotum. Given the fact that only 7,920 men are expected to be diagnosed with TC in 2013, it's one of the rarer cancers a man can develop. And while I haven't had an ultrasound (my doctor said I'd probably be wasting my money, and my insurance plan is pretty basic), as long as the mass doesn't grow, change, begin to hurt, or cause swelling, I shouldn't have to worry.

Honestly my biggest source of worry right now lies in cancers like melanoma, lymphoma, and leukemia, and I think that's a pretty common shared experience around here. I have this anti-fantasy about being diagnosed with a nasty disease and tearfully proclaiming to my family and friends, "I told you I was ill!" And what's even more ridiculous is, before my testicular cancer scare in February, I never worried about this stuff. It's a pretty new experience. I just hope it calms down at some point.

[LindaRK]

I should mention that my son only went in for surgery because the radiologist said there appeared to be bowel wrapped around his intestine ..... like I said, she misread the scan.  The testicular cancer diagnosis was dropped by the urologist.  The surgery was pretty traumatic for him, considering that he had to have his parts cut open .... glad that's over.

You might also want to look up epiditimytis, which is basically the conclusion they came up with on my son.

ALSO - my hubby has the same thing ... wondering if it's hereditary ..... ugh.

[jenkyleg]

Well, somehow, I'm back on the TC scare. I found...something incredibly tiny on my right. Grain of sand if not smaller in size. Still, with my back pain (even though it was caused by injury) and with my slight cough...I'm terrified. I'm going to the doctor to schedule an ultrasound to hopefully put this mess to bed. For good.