Pretty sure I have cancer at 27 and not sure what I should do next

[whatdoidonowthenn]

Around 8 months ago I had a severe chest infection & after recovering, ever since I have been coughing constantly throughout the day because I’ve got phlegm in my throat that won’t go away. The cough has never stopped and it’s at the point where I’m trying and struggling to cough up the mucus every 5-10 mins. It always feels like the same phlegm that I can’t quite get up, but when I do manage to cough it up, it is green and looks like snot.

I’ve called the GP twice during these months and have been told there’s nothing they can do..

About 8 weeks ago I developed a fissure in my top lip (inside the mouth) which is not healing.

I called my doctor and she referred me to an ENT who is removing the fissure on the 17th and then testing it. I asked if it was cancer and he said he couldn’t say.

For the past two weeks I’ve been really struggling with acid reflux and the feeling of something being stuck at the bottom of my throat nearer to my collar bones. I’ve also just noticed some white patches at the back of my mouth. I’ve included some photos. I know nobody here could diagnose me but I’m wanting to prepare myself for the worst..

I’ve also been incredibly fatigued, struggling with headaches every day which sometimes goes to my ears, and a few times a week am experiencing dizziness which affects my hearing and I go almost deaf with buzzing.

i have a handle on getting the fissure removed but what do I do next? Is it simply going to the GP and telling them everything? Would I be able to class it as an emergency same day appointment?

Is it better to seek help privately?

should I wait until the 17th to tell them my other symptoms - but it’s the maxillo facial unit?

any advice on the best path to take here would be appreciated. im massively worried and convinced it’s cancer. I’m only 27

Pics attached - I have been eating chocolate hence the brown fingers 🤣

Oops forgot to attach the photos

Asthma.

Really @lljkk? what symptoms sound like asthma as that’s not something I’ve even thought of

Cancer anxiety is horrible.
i think you’ve probably built all this up in your head and decided it’s something terrible. It’s likely just a collection of ailments because you’re run down after the chest infection. I would make an appointment with your GP and write down all your symptoms to go through.

I would call GP again, acid reflux can cause a constant cough and mucus. If you are coughing and not sleeping add in some anxiety of course you are tired. Fingers crossed it an easy fix but do speak to GP better the facts than imagine the worst.

Persistent cough, something-stuck-in-throat feeling & fatigue are all common asthma symptoms

dizziness/vertigo/headaches could go with the fatigue. Iron deficiency could also cause some of these symptoms & you could have a couple things going on, like iron deficiency with a mild throat infection.

I’m so sorry you are having such a tough time. I had cancer in my 20s but I also suffered from terrible health anxiety for about a decade after and a lot of your symptoms sound to be like the anxiety I suffered which was awful - and actually worse physically than the cancer I had (thyroid caught early thankfully!).

I remember someone told me ‘don’t go there till you get there’ easier said that done, but minds can play awful tricks on you and make you feel physically stressed and unwell.

it was unfair of a doctor to say something could be cancer and leave you hanging like that. It could of course be absolutely noting, or another type of viral infection / run down immune system etc.

I hope you get good news but either way I recommend speaking to someone, getting counselling really helped me through cancer but also through the more debilitating mental health stuff xx

Honestly I think you've got hypochondria.

Thyroid cancer? Ask them to look at this, I’m not saying that is what ut sounds like but the something feeling stuck in your throat is what my friend had

Maybe @Beneficialchampion2 but these are all genuine physical symptoms affecting my every day life, and I’m just looking for advice on next steps I should take

It’s not a cough cough, it’s a need to clear my throat of phlegm that’s not going anywhere

From the photos it looks like the fissure is caused but the outer edge of your upper incisor as the two seem to be directly aligned. Is that tooth out of place slightly?

*by

acid reflux. Also Candida causes white patches in your mouth and throat. See yiurnGP again and in the meantime try something for the gerd

@lampformyfeet no they’re not aligned just the photo x

I've had the most ridiculous throat-clearing cough with mucus and my GP said it was postnatal drop.

Post nasal drip

Try taking a proton pump inhibitor for the reflux from a chemist- it should help with the pain, and it might be the cause of the cough. When you have fissure looked at by ENT ask them to look at your tonsils and mention difficulty swallowing. They’ll have a good look around and see if ok.

It's usually not cancer and it sounds like you've got some health anxiety. Been there.

Write everything down and read them out to the gp.

For your mouth you could ask a dentist to have a look if it's quicker. It's their area. When I had a white patch at the back if my tongue the hospital told me a dentist would have been better than gp.

Have you not been given antibiotics?

Persistent cough could be asthma. The preventer inhaler (brown) prevents the build up of the mucus which causes the cough. Get an appointment with the asthma nurse....

no @rebekahnorris

Im pretty sure you haven't cancer, but you're not well. Health anxiety can cause physical symptoms, so you are not imagining things. I suggest you speak to your GP about your anxiety. They can prescribe antidepressants and will likely recommend that you self-refer to CBT. There you will learn how anxiety works, thought patterns and how to change them. It's worth doing because even if you get the 'all clear' now, you might have episodes like this in the future. All the best.

It could perhaps be something autoimmune (I don't know what).

They have to rule out the worst case scenario first.