very worried

LegacyUser

Im a male and always considered myself very fit, I go to the gym 4x a week and very health eater. Im also a lone parent to my daughter. I have no family

I have to go to hospital in the next few days to get a few checks done for possible cancer. Im very afraid in case they find something. I know I shouldnt panic but over the weeks/months I have noticed certain aspects of discomfort so I am very concerned about what they might find

I cant concentrate in work, I have nobody to talk to about this. What would happen to my daughter if im sick or worse? My daughter is too good to go into care and Ive all she has and vice versa

Tokyo

Hi OP,

It's understandable that you are worried about the upcoming hospital tests - I can't imagine what's running through your mind - but there's a certain amount of putting the cart before the horse here at the moment. As you said yourself you are a fit and healthy person overall, and right now you are going for tests, nothing more, and even if the results aren't what you want to hear, the issue may very well be easily treatable, and these are the things to focus on right now, as hard as that might be. Easy for me to say I know, but try to stay positive in all of this.

Regarding your daughter - is her mother still in the picture in any form?

Matteroffact

I feel for you OP but you are going through a lot of anxiety at the thoughts of these tests. That is normal. Please don't worry about the results, as whatever they are you can be treated. What age is your daughter and have you any friends who could take care of her if you had to be hospitalized ?

Rubberchikken

I know it's easy to say but until you hear anything definite, there is nothing you can do but concentrate on yourself and your child.

Is her mom in the picture? Do you have any cose friends that you can turn to for support?

Good luck with the tests.

LegacyUser

daughter is 6 and the mother isnt on the scene at all. Just myself and herself.

I did some earlier tests and I wasnt worried about them as everything came up fine but for one which is causing the concern. I had put it aside the last while but the letter I got today just has me anxious

the silly thing is im worried to ask for the day off to my work as they gave me 4 days off for the oct break to mind my daughter out of my holidays and also last week I had a week off

Prior to this I hadnt been off work since April

pookie82

veryworriedaboutmydaughter wrote: »

daughter is 6 and the mother isnt on the scene at all. Just myself and herself.

I did some earlier tests and I wasnt worried about them as everything came up fine but for one which is causing the concern. I had put it aside the last while but the letter I got today just has me anxious

the silly thing is im worried to ask for the day off to my work as they gave me 4 days off for the oct break to mind my daughter out of my holidays and also last week I had a week off

Prior to this I hadnt been off work since April

With regard to work, you're not asking for time off to go to the beach for a day, it's a very legitimate reason. No workplace would or should expect you to delay necessary tests for the sake of your health to avoid taking time off. Explain to your manager that you're going for an urgent medical appointment and get a letter from whatever medical department you're attending as you're leaving to certify where you've been - they can't really argue with that.

As someone who is a worrier in general, particularly when it comes to health, I can empathise with the nature of your concern and anxiety. That said, I can't count the number of times I've worked myself up over tests either on myself or family members and friends for no reason, even in cases where symptoms looked suspect and doctors were concerned prior to checks. Stay away from google and don't research what you think you might have yourself... leave that to the medical experts!

It's very easy to say "no point worrying until you know for sure" but that doesn't help when you're awake at 3am, I know. The best thing that you can do is recognise that while you don't have any power over the outcome of tests, you do have power over how you react to it. Each time I've gotten good results over the years the first thing I do is regret the month or weeks I've agonised beforehand ... it's a complete waste of time and energy before you even know you're ill!

With regard to your daughter, it's natural to think ahead and imagine the worst, but even if your test results are not what you hoped for at first, there's no telling how treatable any illness you have will be. If you're as fit and healthy as you say you are, you have the best chance possible of recovery, should you even need it.

Don't put off the tests for the sake of work, you owe your health and your daughter more than that. If, and only IF you are in any way unwell, your best shot at dealing with it is speed of diagnosis.

I wish you the very best and hope that your worry turns out to be for nothing.

skallywag

OP, I also had a situation relatively recently where I was in a lot of discomfort for a long period of time, and was also very worried about what it could possibly be (aside : whatever you do never ask Dr Google!). It has turned out to be nothing life threatening in any way. The chances that you do not have cancer are high. On the other hand, and say just for the sake of argument you do, the majority of cancers these days are very treatable. Keep the chin up and good luck.

LegacyUser

Regular poster, going anon for this. I was in a very similar situation to you recently OP. Been very healthy, no health worries whatsoever and was then blindsided by a possible cancer diagnosis. I had lots of follow up tests, and wating for them to come up and waiting for the results was honestly one of the hardest things I've ever done. During all this waiting I panicked at every little twinge or pain that I would never have even noticed before. It was an awful time, but everything has eventually come back clear.

Believe me OP, I know how hard it is to stay calm and positive. But you're doing the right thing by having everything checked out. You've every chance of being completely healthy, but even in the event that you need treatment, you're young, healthy and you've probably found any problems at a very early treatable stage.

Do try and talk to someone about your worries, it will help.