Medical fears could put my life at risk - seriously need help

[Jariel]

I am in need of some help, whether it's book recommendations or links or any experiences. Basically, a few members of my family have died of or been treated for cancer, which means I'm at a very high risk. So ideally I need to have regular and thorough medical check ups.

However, I have a serious phobia of injections, blood and basically any kind of medical treatment. I'm extremely squeamish and can't even think about my internal organs without going lightheaded. I have avoided any kind of hospital treatment when possible and if a doctor wants a sample of blood, I start shaking with fear and pull away. I'm a bold guy and there aren't that many things that frighten me, but this reduces me to a quivering wreck! It's actually very embarassing to even admit this.

To clarify - it's not the pain of the treatment that bothers me, it's just the idea of blood, veins or my internal organs that sends me queasy.

I realise that my life could depend on overcoming this phobia, but I just don't know where to start. I've read books and sought help from help groups, but they usually come down to some clueless psychologist saying "just face it head on". That's about as useful as telling a cripple "just get up and walk".

I've actually overcome a lot of phobias in the past, such as fear of socialising, women, public speaking and even overcame mild agoraphobia. But I have not been able to apply the same principles to overcoming this particular fear.

If anyone here can direct me towards any help, it would be appreciated a lot! Thanks!

 

[Doggystyle]

Have a look into emotion freedom technique, or thought field therapy, you tap on your acupuncture points while thinking of the negative emotion and it reduces it. It sounds and looks odd, but it does work.

 

[donjuanjovi]

You've gotta crawl before you can walk! I could never swallow pills. I would always gag. So my parents had to ground them up and mix them with juice for me when I was younger. I know I needed to do something so I started chewing on gummie bears and swallowing a half bear and than worked my way up to a full bear. Than I went to skittles. Now I can swallow a freakin' horse pill even without water.

I would suggest you start researching human anatomy. Learn what's inside you and why it's there. If you truely understand what it is that's inside your body and the purpose it serves, than maybe you'll have an easier time accepting that it's in you and it's not really a big deal. I would even start watching ER clips or some of those trauma shows on TLC. They show some pretty sick stuff with open sugery. There's nothing I loved more than watching the doc stitch up my hand when I cut it open. Build up your tolerance to theses kinds of things and you'll be beggin' for those needles!

 

[WesCottII]

If you don't mind me asking, what type of cancer is it? Are you sure it's not circumstance rather than genes?

I mean a family of mine workers who lived in an asbestos house will have a better chance of getting cancer.

Whatever you do, don't read up on symptoms - you'll be seeing them everywhere. There's glaring signs with cancer that you will notice.

 

[Jariel]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the replies and take everything into account.

Doggystyle: I will look into it. I am willing to give it a try as I have nothing to lose by it. Thanks for the suggestions!

DonJuanJovi: You have an excellent point there. I usually shrink away from any shows like ER and even pictures of internal organs send me lightheaded, so what you suggest makes a lot of sense. It will help me build a tolerance to it without actually experiencing it. Appreciated!

WescottII: I agree that circumstances and lifestyle have a big role to play, but unfortunately it has pretty much been established that it's in my maternal genes. My maternal grandmother, her brother, my grandad and his brother, and my aunt have each died from bowel and prostate cancer between 50 and early 60s and my mother and remaining aunt have had cancerous growths removed. The specialist who treated my aunt recommended that I get checked regularly. Although my paternal grandad also died from cancer, he was 80 when he was diagnosed, so I pray that I have my father's genes. But I'd rather be safe.

And I agree, reading up on symptoms is enough to turn me paranoid. After losing my aunt I started getting paranoid about a pain in my back, even though I was 99% sure it was a muscle strain.

Anyway, thanks all for the mature replies.

 

[Nighthawk]

All phobias can be treated, and it's like donjuanjovi says, you should slowly lose your irrational fear by getting familiar with the subject. People who are afraid of spiders are encouraged to get comfortable just looking at a picture of one first.

Try to disassociate the subject from your learnt emotional responses and find new ways to understand it. Think of your body as a machine that can handle a little inspection. And as with all uncomfortable experiences, constantly remind yourself that it is only a temporary inconvenience and you are moving towards it's end all the time.

You should have seen it when they operated on my balls, there was blood everywhere.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Basically, a few members of my family have died of or been treated for cancer, which means I'm at a very high risk. So ideally I need to have regular and thorough medical check ups.

Ideally, you need to do a lot more than just checkups. Your diet is where you have the most control over cancer. Start doing research on the foods that cause and prevent cancer, and adjust your diet accordingly.

http://dmoz.org/Health/Conditions_and_Diseases/Cancer/Prevention/

also see http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php for a list of healthy foods and references to other research.

 

[Doggystyle]

Doggystyle: I will look into it. I am willing to give it a try as I have nothing to lose by it. Thanks for the suggestions!

Paul Mckenna was talking about it on the Chris Moyles show a few months back, i find it to be pretty effective.

 

[Throttle]

There is absolutely no scientific evidence conclusively linking diet to cancer prevention:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/27/health/27canc.html?ex=1285473600&en=faa02f17ab83a2bc&ei=5088

Sorry. We want to believe that we can mitigate our risks, but in this case, there is no strong evidence that we can prevent cancer through changes in diet. The best research (randomly-assigned, prospective studies with an appropriate control group) shows little relationship between diet & cancer.

On the other hand, most of the recommended changes are compatible with otherwise healthy changes, so there's no reason not to follow most such recommendations.

Just don't be mad when you get cancer for genetic or environmental reasons anyway. People, and I must say, this crew in particular, often feel a deep need to be in control. When it comes to cancer, you may need to let go of the control, do what you can, but be careful about chasing diet fads.

Remember all the conflicting advice about cholesterol (maybe not for some of you)? Well new advice rarely conflicted with old, but it got to be too much for people to digest. So to this day we've got 19 year olds running around worrying about the cholesterol in eggs and other non-sense....

 

[Bible_Belt]

Science not having proven the link between diet and cancer is different than knowing for certain that there is no link. The research is very difficult for many reasons, one of which is that people disagree about what makes up a healthy diet. During the 90's, low-fat was the big thing, but recent studies have said that low-fat diets are a waste of time. Also, cancer research spans many years, so isolating diet as a variable is not easy. There are dozens of studies that suggest anti-cancer properties of many foods, but so far only on lab animals. Of course a mouse is not a person, but to inject a mouse's tumor with green tea extract and see the tumor shrink is at least intriguing.