Fear of stomach or colon cancer
September 23, 2011 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Christian Welsch
Good evening,
I have been experiencing pain in the left side of my back since my pregnancy, which has not improved with massages. Since mid-August, the pain has been constant and radiates to the left ribcage. It feels like a burning sensation on the left side of my back. I went to see my family doctor: my comprehensive blood test came back fine and the ultrasound showed everything that could be seen was normal. That's why I am afraid because it's not clear whether my stomach or intestines are affected. I also visited an orthopedist...
I have a stomach endoscopy scheduled for Wednesday and I am terribly afraid that something might be wrong. I am 25 years old and it should be mentioned that I have slight hypochondriac tendencies and always google everything.
Best regards
Dear questioner,
Of course, if you google "back pain and stomach cancer," you will find some dramatic descriptions of diseases that are sure to drive you crazy. Please calm down. The likelihood of getting stomach cancer at your age is probably as rare as winning the lottery.
To ease your mind, here are some numbers: The frequency of stomach cancer has decreased significantly in recent years, with the average age of onset in women being 75(!) years. Additionally, you would expect other symptoms such as vomiting of clotted blood or weight loss. The same applies to colon cancer, with the average age of onset in women being 73(!) years. Cancer screening in this area does not begin until the age of 45.
It is much more likely that hormonal changes during pregnancy are causing your back pain, radiating from the spine to the stomach. Or perhaps you have too much stomach acid, leading to reflux. (Stomach acid irritates the esophagus).
When patients come to me with such symptoms and completely frighten themselves, I always bring up an example from the wonderful book "House of God": You see a symptom ("back pain"), similar to the sound of hooves outside the open window, and you don't think of the simplest and most common explanation, which is that someone is riding a horse past the window. Instead, you only think that there is a circus in town and a zebra has broken loose, galloping past.
I hope I could reassure you.
I wish you all the best for the rest of your pregnancy.
Yours sincerely, C. Welsch
