Originally Posted by
Tbh2002 
Thanks for the replies. I am mostly concerned due to my ongoing throat issues which are worsening and I have absolutely convinced myself I have cancer. Still waiting to see a specialist and the wait is horrendous. I can’t even buy my kids’ Christmas presents as I feel like I’m going to have to tell them soon I’m dying.
Dropsie, the severe anxiety is coming from almost a decade of heavy binge drinking and smoking then another decade (minus some time in between) drinking at the upper level of moderate.
Throat issues can be many different things other than cancer: usually, it’s a person doing something (diet, drinking, smoking) to chronically irritate the esophagus, pharynx or upper respiratory tract. Jumping to the conclusion that it’s cancer is something alcoholics do. We all do this in early sobriety: although I’d say 80 percent of us are sure we have total liver failure and 20 percent of us are convinced we have cancer.
Then, the vast majority of us find that our health is fine. Sometimes we get a person or two here with liver failure or cancer. I’d say since I started here in 2017 I’ve read two posts where the person had liver failure and one where they had cancer. That’s out of hundreds, maybe even a thousand posts I’ve read.
The “lump in throat” google term is popular. Because “lump in throat” is also a symptom of...you guessed it....anxiety.
Just pay attention to the odds here. Remember that most people who have symptoms aren’t facing imminent death, try to rest, and find out more from your specialist (an ENT I assume).
Breathe.