Does the constant thinking ever go away

[Marcie]

Hey my melanoma peeps!

I was diagnosed stage 3b a year ago. Had two lymph nodes in my armpit removed and they came back micro went in again and removed another 13 which they came back clear. Did Interferon for a year, scans every 3 months. When does the worry of every pain on my body I automatically assume “it’s melanoma that has spread.”? Started to feel a sharp dull pain on my ribs but of course the more I feel it the worse it gets and it probably hurts because I keep touching it but anxiety of thinking it has spread to my ribs is there! Any other melanoma peeps out there experience this?

[Catherine Poole]

I was lower risk than you, but went through the same issues. And to this day tend to think any physical issue “could be” cancer. But, I’ve learned to meditate, especially like Jon Kabat-Zinn’s work which has scientific evidence of working to help clear the mind of this constant thinking. You might want to check out his work at: http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/

Yoga is also useful for relaxation and stress relief. Counseling is a good thing too as well as some meds. Talk to your GP or trusted medical provider. Hope this helps you. You are not alone!

[Linny]

I’m not sure it ever goes away, though my mind does take a break every now and then.

I’ve tried to think of these aches and pains this way: just because I have melanoma doesn’t mean my body won’t go through normal aches and pains. Lots of times stress causes aches and pains. The more you stress, the more they persist. For example, I had issues with pain in my left jaw and ear about a year out from my diagnosis. Before I went into full panic mode, I tried to tune into what I was doing at the time the pain hit — turns out I was clenching my jaw each time. When I unclenched it, the pain disappeared. The constant clenching would also explain the cracked molar I ended up with. 😆

[Author]

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