1. < Prostate Cancer

The hypochondria cycle

Posted by northoftheborder @northoftheborder, Aug 21 8:01pm

This happened to me today briefly with my left collarbone — I convinced myself that it was sticking out slightly further than my right collarbone:

1. Notice something that feels very slightly hard or lumpy.
2. Worry that it's a cancer metastasis.
3. Poke and prod trying to figure it out.
4. Worry more because it feels sore (from all the poking and prodding).

It's a pattern that was common during my first few months home from hospital, especially when I was still getting mood swings from ADT, but it's thankfully rare now. My family doctor told me then that it's a perfectly-natural reaction at first, but she'd be worried if I was still doing it in 5 years.

Did the rest of you with stage 3 or 4 prostate cancer ever go through this?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

heavyphil | @heavyphil | Aug 23 10:26am
In reply to @northoftheborder "It turns out this is called "Somatic Symptom Disorder" (SSD): https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/somatic-symptom-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20377776 From other sources, it appears..." + (show)
@northoftheborder

It turns out this is called "Somatic Symptom Disorder" (SSD):
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/somatic-symptom-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20377776
From other sources, it appears that this is especially common in people newly-diagnosed with cancer, and it's tricky for healthcare providers because sometimes our aches and pains do genuinely mean something. According to the Mayo page linked above, here are some of the key warning signs that we *might* have progressed from normal self-monitoring to dysfunctional SSD:

- Constant worry about potential illness
- Viewing normal physical sensations as a sign of severe physical illness
- Fearing that symptoms are serious, even when there is no evidence
- Thinking that physical sensations are threatening or harmful
- Feeling that medical evaluation and treatment have not been adequate
- Fearing that physical activity may cause damage to your body
- Repeatedly checking your body for abnormalities
- Frequent health care visits that don't relieve your concerns or that make them worse
- Being unresponsive to medical treatment or unusually sensitive to medication side effects
- Having a more severe impairment than is usually expected from a medical condition

I hit a number of these during the first year after my diagnosis. I think it calmed down for me once I'd had time to establish what a new "normal" baseline felt like after the nerve damage from my spinal metastasis, and the normal pains of regaining mobility after a few months in a hospital bed. The Mayo page suggested seeking treatment early, or else there's a risk that you can get "stuck" in this.

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After all you’ve gone thru and all the various surgeries, procedures and drugs how could you NOT be sensitive to any bump, ache of twinge??!!
Better to be fully engaged with your body than to treat everything as ‘nothing’ IMO.

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northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Aug 23 10:32am
In reply to @heavyphil "After all you’ve gone thru and all the various surgeries, procedures and drugs how could you..." + (show)
@heavyphil

After all you’ve gone thru and all the various surgeries, procedures and drugs how could you NOT be sensitive to any bump, ache of twinge??!!
Better to be fully engaged with your body than to treat everything as ‘nothing’ IMO.

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Yes, I agree. It's very important to self-monitor. I think the disorder is when it becomes excessive and dysfunctional, just like washing your hands is good, but continuing until your hands are raw and bleeding isn't. It's tricky with cancer, because we always worry that the one thing we decide *not* to worry about will be the one that matters.

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Sicetnon3 | @sicernon3 | Aug 23 10:42am
In reply to @proftom2 ""Somatic Symptom Disorder and Cancer," 3.8 years in, stage 4, umpteen hours of mental health counseling..." + (show)
@proftom2

"Somatic Symptom Disorder and Cancer," 3.8 years in, stage 4, umpteen hours of mental health counseling and I declared myself "Somatic Symptom Disorder and Cancer" free. Dang. My PSA started rising a few months ago and my "Somatic Symptom Disorder" returned. But it's different now. Why?
I've learned it's a vital part of learning how to live with cancer. Now, when it happens I give myself a pat on the back for dealing with it. It will happen again, I will deal with it, lessons learned in learning to live with cancer.

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Heraclitus: 'No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.'

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chipe | @chipe | Aug 23 11:00am

Once I learned of my stage, etc., yes, I worried from time to time (haven't had any treatment yet, surgery Sept. 16).
I had a pain just below my ribs on my right side: oh my, has it spread to my liver? Had a pain in my back just below the last rib: oh my, has it gone into my rib?

It is hard not to do but I have found that just telling myself that is "stinkin' thinkin'" and use my belief system to give the troubling thoughts away.

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northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Aug 23 11:21am
In reply to @chipe "Once I learned of my stage, etc., yes, I worried from time to time (haven't had..." + (show)
@chipe

Once I learned of my stage, etc., yes, I worried from time to time (haven't had any treatment yet, surgery Sept. 16).
I had a pain just below my ribs on my right side: oh my, has it spread to my liver? Had a pain in my back just below the last rib: oh my, has it gone into my rib?

It is hard not to do but I have found that just telling myself that is "stinkin' thinkin'" and use my belief system to give the troubling thoughts away.

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"Stinkin' thinkin'" is great! I originally misread it as "sinkin' thinkin'" which also works (because that kind of obsessively negative thinking can sink you).

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cstrutt52 | @cstrutt52 | Aug 23 11:46am

There is an old medical adage that I try to remember when dealing with suspect conditions I might have. "When patients hear hooves, they tend to think zebras." Meaning, that most of the time it is just a horse, and the not more exotic troublesome diseases that can affect us.

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stevecando54 | @stevecando54 | Aug 23 4:44pm
In reply to @scottbeammeup "I think men are just as attuned to our bodies as women, but we are better..." + (show)
@scottbeammeup

I think men are just as attuned to our bodies as women, but we are better at being stubborn and worse at admitting something might be wrong.

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Being stubborn got me into this mess,, oh well, little late now..Best to all

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northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Aug 23 5:47pm
In reply to @cstrutt52 "There is an old medical adage that I try to remember when dealing with suspect conditions..." + (show)
@cstrutt52

There is an old medical adage that I try to remember when dealing with suspect conditions I might have. "When patients hear hooves, they tend to think zebras." Meaning, that most of the time it is just a horse, and the not more exotic troublesome diseases that can affect us.

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In my case, I originally thought the hooves were horses and they turned out to be zebras. 😕

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chipe | @chipe | Aug 24 7:51am
In reply to @northoftheborder "In my case, I originally thought the hooves were horses and they turned out to be..." + (show)
@northoftheborder

In my case, I originally thought the hooves were horses and they turned out to be zebras. 😕

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You literally made me laugh out loud!

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