To think if you experience cancer around you it sets off health anxiety?

[hursty900]

Interested if only some are susceptible.. or if it's just natural... of everyone I know, including myself, if they have watched someone close die of cancer they panic at every symptom they get that might be cancer.. never had this before - or is it an age thing? Late 40s.

Not me, I’ve known a number of people die of cancer, but I know that has no effect on my odds of getting it.
You might want to see a therapist if the anxiety is really bad.

No I haven't, but I have had alot more anxiety problems in general after a death, they took counselling, time and effort to manage but it has calmed considerably after a few years.

I would say recognising anxiety for what it is makes a huge difference, so getting some additional support could really benefit.

I definitely worry I have cancer or other serious illnesses a lot but it started with some odd test results that no one could get to the bottom of. It was never resolved and I was just told to forget about them. But I haven’t been able to and now google little symptoms all the time and think I have a silent illness that is bubbling away. I know I am being paranoid a lot of the time, but I have a very dependent ND daughter so that is what causes my anxiety. Ie what on earth would happen if I wasn’t here? If it wasn’t for her, I doubt I would worry so much. I am also turning 50 soon, so think it is an age thing too. Plus I have a private doctor at work so have access to lots of tests at the drop of a hat, which makes it easier to actually pursue my worries. I do actually have two friends with cancer at the moment but I don’t think that is what is causing my health anxiety, even though I am worried about them of course.

But the odds are 1 in 2 so there's high chance we will get it. Those I know had lived with innocuous symptoms for a while before diagnosis. So what I mean is where I used to get an ache in my back & first thought would be, 'oh I've pulled a muscle' - now first thought is 'could it be a tumour pressing'.. i usually talk myself round but the thought is always there. I know many others who are the same.

If you actually have cancer like me and friends of mine in the same position we get fed up with stuff like Stand up to cancer interspersing otherwise enjoyable programmes with awful stories so don’t watch anything like that.
Nor do I want to hear about peoples auntie who died of cancer etc.
If you don’t have cancer learn obvious symptoms for your own safety and otherwise avoid the whole thing.
I have huge health anxiety but mine is based in fact and the reality of my situation. I find distraction the only useful thing and reminding myself of the many times I have been convinced something is a new symptom when this has not been the case.

Totally agree.. my DM is stage 4 & I find all the positive 'you can beat this' messaging cuts deep. I guess it's like anything, when you're in it you see it everywhere. I can only imagine when you actually have it how much you want to escape from it as much as you can rather than have it in your face everywhere. Wishing you well xxx

I understand. I am in my 40s and over the last year have lost a friend almost overnight with sarcoma, had multiple friends in treatment for breast and other cancers and am starting to feel very conscious of too much sun burn in childhood (my dad didn't really look after us) and other risks.

I have had close family with cancer and another incurable disease over the past couple of years. If anything, its powered up my ‘life is short’ mode and made me more focused on doing things I have always thought about but never done.

I had cancer around me with several family members and it sparked several mental health issues that I’m only just recovering from.

I also agree completely with black cats. My family members (and me) used distraction to help try to take minds off the awful ever-present feeling of dread and the seemingly constant adverts for cancer research, Stand Up to Cancer etc but using highly emotive stories and images did a lot of damage at that time.

I know they have to advertise to get donations but they’re awful if you’re actually trying to live through it.

I don't think it does for everyone. I have OCD and my Dad died when I was 11 and my step Dad when I was 19. Both of these caused me severe health anxiety but at 11 I didn't really have access to Dr Google so not as severe would just ask for reassurance about things 24/7.

At 19 it was brutal I'd check lumps that were non existent so much i would actually cause myself an injury. Spend hours checking Google for my perceived symptoms. I go through phases now where it's bad but I'm a very rational person so try to avoid seeking reassurance now as it only ends up in me seeking more reassurance!

Yes definitely. My sister who is 13 months younger than me died of a brain tumour last year. She went from completely healthy to dead in six months. It’s made me very paranoid about everything. I’m not sure what you can do about it really.

I had this when my dad died from cancer when I was 30. As far as I was concerned, I had cancer and it was just a matter of finding it. I would actively look for symptoms and was constantly at the GP. I wasn't deliberately wasting their time. In my head it was very real.

You have my sympathy it's a horrible situation to be in. All I can say is that it didn't last forever. I'm fine now.

It did a bit for me. Lost my partner / older two kids' dad to a brain tumour, and it kicked off HA. It's better than it was but still flares up occasionally.

Very normal I think OP but you need to work hard to not give into the lure of wallowing.

Sorry if that sounds harsh but worrying about something that hasn't happened yet is pointless and also annoying to people who are actually sick.

My very self centred sister was moaning recently about how stressful life is for her because I've battled a lot of cancer so she worried she will too.

My mother has cancer at the moment- I'm one of 7 siblings and have wondered if any of us would get it too but I don't worry about it. I don't worry in general though.
One of my sisters on the other hand, is sending me lists of her symptoms and photos of body parts she thinks are suspect, regularly. (I do tell her I'm not a doctor and that she should see a doctor if she's concerned.)

My closest friend has had cancer for a year and it made me go and get a mammogram, a skin cancer check and a smear. But seeing how well she has responded to treatment has actually made me feel that if I did have to face it, I would be in good hands and would have a good chance of surviving.
It’s also made me realise that I will die one day and that I have to strive to be the person I want to be and do the things I want to do and not waste this one life that I do have.

I can relate yes. I don’t really think of it in terms of my own physical niggles being something more sinister but more that the rug could be pulled from underneath us at ANY time. Whether that’s a shock diagnosis or a freak accident…. The thought of having to live through a loved one’s illness or death again does play on my mind, as I guess it’s inevitable to an extent.

I really hope at least one of my friends feel like this after watching me come out the other side fully recovered.

Honestly I think it's personality.
My dad has turned anxious about every health symptom he gets.
The more anxious he gets, the more stubbornly optimistic & chill I become.
MN posts have that effect on me too.

Yes this is my thinking these days, too. Like you I talk myself out of it but the thought lingers. I’m late 30s but have a close family member with a recent diagnosis of cancer and a close friend diagnosed with brain cancer at 35. Very much changed how I view every ache and pain.

My dad dying of cancer strangely helped with a lot of my fears over it and death

I'm sorry to read that @Cluborange666 and others. It's a bastard disease

I have metastatic inoperable cancer - lung and brain
Every twinge makes me think it's spread more

Worse, many of my friends are more anxious about their health now, watching me go through this, given the lack of risk factors for me

Please, PLEASE stay off Google

If you are worried, look on the MacMillan website. If you are still worried, see your doctor. They have a very low tolerance threshold for cancer, and if there is the slightest concern, you will be referred

Try not to let worry about cancer suck the joy from your life.

I don’t think it’s an abnormal response but it’s not necessarily typical either. As PP have said, if you are an anxious person always then it may manifest itself in that way following that situation, but it’s certainly not inevitable that someone will develop health anxiety after this sort of experience.

I can 100% relate to this. My mum died of breast cancer 15 years ago. It wasn't a hereditary type but I've always thought that it's inevitable for me at some point in the future. I have to psych myself up for days to check for lumps because I think if I find one now I'm just not ready to deal with it and for my life to change. I'm better than I was and live with the anxiety but the feeling of inevitability about it all hasn't ever changed. It's ridiculous really because I'm usually very proactive and don't believe in fate but I can't seem to get past this one.

OP, have you gone through the menopause? Anxiety in general builds up during your 40's. To your question I'd say, no. Everyone knows someone who has conditions that could be terminal/massively impact life. Personally having worked in home care and end of life care, I'd worry what you have to live with in the last 10/20 years of your life, not what kills you. So aim for good health.