This can be the case for some who have seen family or friends with cancer. A sense of hopelessness (if it’s cancer, nothing can be done) or a feeling of panic can paralyze your ability to act. In such cases, a person may be too frightened to go to a doctor. Fear that you might go through the same vividly recalled cancer experience as someone close to you did, can be overwhelming. If a symptom suggests that you might have the same type of cancer as your loved one had, you may become terrified. Many people who notice a “suspicious” symptom have encountered cancer before through the illness of a loved one, such as a parent or grandparent. Learning to live with uncertainty becomes the bottom line in dealing with cancer. This seems to be what people mean when they say, “The diagnosis completely changed my life.” That wonderful sense of certainty and expectation of continued life and health, a kind of denial that the bubble can ever burst, which we all start out with, is destroyed forever. It often lessens when things are going well, but it is a feeling that never completely goes away. This pervasive sense of uncertainty probably characterizes the journey with cancer more than anything else. This moment, before the doctor has even been called or a single test has been done, often transforms a person’s life from one of general well being and confidence, to one of enormous anxiety and uncertainty about the future. Could this symptom mean cancer, or can I assume it’s nothing? From this moment, the uncertainty of cancer begins. A lump, a sore that has changed in appearance or hasn’t healed properly, any persistent severe pain, the presence of unexplained blood, a sore throat or cough that persists -these are several of the most common signs. Many peoples first experience with cancer begins quite simply with the discovery of a symptom or sign known to be a possible cancer indicator.
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