Chest Pain - Cancer: Lung Message Board

Paranoid29 · 01-17-2004, 12:28 PM

Firstly, excuse my ignorance & apologies to anyone who thinks I'm just a hypocondriac.

I've been suffering from reletively mild chest pains (not constant, but at unrelated times everyday) for the last three weeks ranging from the middle of the chest to the left, right or even towards my back.

I was due to visit the doctor on Friday, but woke to no pain so cancelled appointment. Yesterday however, I suddenly felt a much more intense pain in the right side of my chest (like being jabbed in the ribcage hard with a couple of fingers). This pain has been with me everytime I take a deep breath, swallow or move a certain way since.

I have recently (2 weeks ago) given up 8 or 9 years of smoking including regular joints (helps my insomnia) partly as a result of worrying about the chest pain. I am 29 years old.

I have no other symptoms (coughing, shortness of breath etc) and have plenty of zest & energy.

I appreciate that I should see a doctor but I am working away from home next week so I cannot unless I go to A&E which seems a bit excessive.

Unfortunately, by trying to investigate my symptoms myself I have become paranoid of having lung cancer!

Can anyone help? Its driving me crazy.

butterflytrans · 01-31-2004, 03:18 PM

You don't have lung cancer. Most lung cancers are asymptomatic, and appear in people that have a minimum of a 10-15 packyear history of smoking. A packyear is the number of packs you smoke a day times the number of years you've smoked. A ten packyear, then, is a pack a day for 10 years--that's a LOT of cigarettes. That would explain why most people who get lung cancer are over 50.

Chest pain, by the way, is one of the least common symptoms (if there even are any) of lung cancer.

02-03-2004, 09:37 PM

I had to reply to let you know that my husband age 39 was diagnost with lung cancer 5 months ago. So as you understand age has nothing to do if you have or not have cancer. All so I had spoken with allot of people that they had never smoked and have lung cancer. If you think you have something go check it out. Don't play with you're health. Trust you're god filling, that never let's you down. May god be with you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by butterflytrans

You don't have lung cancer. Most lung cancers are asymptomatic, and appear in people that have a minimum of a 10-15 packyear history of smoking. A packyear is the number of packs you smoke a day times the number of years you've smoked. A ten packyear, then, is a pack a day for 10 years--that's a LOT of cigarettes. That would explain why most people who get lung cancer are over 50.

Chest pain, by the way, is one of the least common symptoms (if there even are any) of lung cancer.

butterflytrans · 02-04-2004, 06:08 AM

antonia34, your husband is a rare exception. Age, trust me, is a big factor when thinking about the clinical importance of lung cancer. If every person with chest pain or the "gut feeling" went to get a chest x-ray, the medical profession would be so backlogged, people who really needed the help wouldn't get it. I think it's okay to maybe go to the doctor and get checked out, but getting all sorts of tests is useless. They'll all come up normal, and the patient gets even more nervous.

Maybe your husband didn't smoke, but if you take a close history, you'll find that he has some kind of exposure to one of the lung cancer causing agents other than cigarette smoke (which make up the minority of cases). There is a type of lung cancer which is not associated with smoking, but it is rare, and chances are that is what your husband had if he didn't have any exposures.

Actually, taking a closer look at your message, your husband isn't the exception. He's 39....the earliest lung cancers usually appear in the 40s, though the peak of them are in the 50s and above.

Did your husband smoke?

02-07-2004, 09:09 PM

Hi,

To answer you're question, yes my husband did smoke. He was a havy smoker 3-4 packs a day and all so he was working in construction roofing breathing all the chemicals. When he started having the symptoms he was only 38. He has Small Cell Lung Cancer. None of his family members had any type of cancer. If you want to know anything more please fill free to ask.

QUOTE=butterflytrans]antonia34, your husband is a rare exception. Age, trust me, is a big factor when thinking about the clinical importance of lung cancer. If every person with chest pain or the "gut feeling" went to get a chest x-ray, the medical profession would be so backlogged, people who really needed the help wouldn't get it. I think it's okay to maybe go to the doctor and get checked out, but getting all sorts of tests is useless. They'll all come up normal, and the patient gets even more nervous.

Maybe your husband didn't smoke, but if you take a close history, you'll find that he has some kind of exposure to one of the lung cancer causing agents other than cigarette smoke (which make up the minority of cases). There is a type of lung cancer which is not associated with smoking, but it is rare, and chances are that is what your husband had if he didn't have any exposures.

Actually, taking a closer look at your message, your husband isn't the exception. He's 39....the earliest lung cancers usually appear in the 40s, though the peak of them are in the 50s and above.

Did your husband smoke?[/QUOTE]