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Scared it might be cancer

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wizardofoz
wizardofoz

Hi guys,

As the title says, I am really scared that I might have cancer. I am not in the risk group in a sense that I am 27-year-old female, but I have not been able to eat any solid food in the last 3.5 months. Last year I had a period when I had strong indigestion and difficulty swallowing that was much easier than now, which I had gastroscopy done for and they didn't find anything on biopsies but heartburn and small hiatus hernia. 

Would it be possible for cancer to develop in a year? 

I realized today that I had all the symptoms in the last months - first I had food getting stuck "in my chest" with progressive difficulty swallowing until I could not swallow even thick liquids anymore. So I haven't had real food in more than 3 months. I lost 12 kgs and weight now around 47 kgs in total. I have heartburn and had to stop medication yesterday before gastroscopy next Friday, and live on Ensure, shakes and chicken soup. The hospital was playing with me in a sense that they postponed my tests now for more than three months and I wonder if it's smart of me that I didn't push for it sooner. 

Is that how that started for many of you? Is it possible to have "clear" gastroscopy one year and then develop the disease the next year? 

 

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1 Reply

  • AlanJM
    AlanJM wizardofoz

    Posted

    Swallowing difficulties need not be cancer-related.   If you had an endoscopy a year ago it would probably have indicated a tumour.   But something is amiss that is causing your difficulties.   It may be that they might want to conduct a barium swallow test where you drink a white liquid whilst being x-rayed, but an endoscopy is probably the first obvious test.   It is not impossible to have a rapidly developing cancer, but there are lots of other possibilities, perhaps a stomach ulcer, the hiatus hernia getting worse, or something like that in the digestive system, that is causing your problems.   You are quite right to maintain your nutrition levels with liquid food.   
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