Anxiety

hi all. being anxious is not my favourite past time but don't know what to do when i feel worried about my life expectancy and the limited time i might have with my loved one. i haven't yet lived my life to its content , i haven't travelled the world or seen Nothern lights for that matter, i am not a mother yet and i am yet to buy my dream house with my oh so caring and loving husband. i am only 4 years into this magical institution of marriage and i am not done.

dont know if i need more answers or prayers, but there is something preoccupying my mind all the time and there is no respite. it feels awful. when i want to google about various dresses to buy and locations to see or how to learn a new language etc i always end up researching about cancer and its symptoms (not to forget, the conclusion). no doubt its depressive and saddening. i think it might be reducing my life span due to stress but cant do much about it. i feel helpless when i am not researching about cancers.

this forum and its members keep me motivated and i feel like conversing with a loved one, like a friend at a distant place. i cant express how blessed i feel to be part of this community where i can freely express about everything i am carrying with me, in my heart. i don't know what would have i done without your support. thank you for being there.

@scared to death- Below cognitive behavior therapy strategies are from How to Manage Breast Cancer Screening/Diagnosis Anxiety

and they helped me a lot and I hope they help you too.The article is written by Shawn M. Burn Ph.D.

Most psychologists treat anxiety with cognitive-behavior therapy strategies. The general idea is to target your anxiety-producing thoughts with their rational counterparts. Many of us unnecessarily "catastrophize" and have ourselves sick, bald, and leaving behind loved ones before we've even had our tests or received our test results. We start preparing for an ordeal that may not even come to pass. As my grandmother Daisy would say, we "borrow trouble." We can use CBT techniques to reduce our anxiety. For instance, when we feel agitated we can remind ourselves:

1. More women have false positives than not, so it is quite likely that I don't have cancer.
2. False positives are more common in women like me who have dense breasts, a history of breast biopsies, and a familial history of breast cancer.
3. If I have regular mammograms over a 10-year period, it is likely I will experience a false positive at least once.
4. Only 12.4 percent of American women develop breast cancer.
5. Only .5 percent of women called back after their initial screening for further testing will be found to have cancer.
6. My anxiety is worth the peace of mind I will experience if it's nothing.
7. I am choosing breast cancer screening/diagnostics despite the stress so that if I do have cancer, it will be detected early when treatment is not as big a deal.
8. If it is cancer, it is not necessarily a death sentence. The five-year survival rate is almost 90 percent. It's estimated that about 19 percent of breast cancers would never become "clinically significant" if left untreated.
9. I know more women that have survived breast cancer than have died from it.
10. If it is breast cancer, it is likely it can be treated without chemotherapy, especially if it is found early.
11. Despite what I've seen on TV and in movies, breast cancer treatment (even chemo) would not necessarily make me extremely ill and bald, only to die anyway.
12. Whatever the outcome, I can handle it as I have so many other difficult things. If I handled [insert life challenge], I can handle breast cancer.
13. Like other challenges I have confronted, if there is a challenge to be faced, it will make me stronger and more resilient.
14. This experience is a reminder of my mortality and what's important to me, and in that way it's an opportunity for personal growth.
15. This experience reminds me that I have friends and family that love me and will be there for me if I need them.

Futura- your list is so good and true. Thank you. I needed to read this and will again before my biopsy tomorrow mornong