Does cancer OCD exist?

So I was just wondering if there's such a thing as cancer OCD. I remember last year I was scared of having a brain tumour and obsessed over it, googled every minute of the day, saw all kinds of doctors, asked for mri scans...then it continued with lung cancer, then skin cancer, then lymphoma, then breast cancer .. This went on for a year... Until I finally stopped going to the doctors. My symptoms vanished. I haven't been scared of having cancer ever since..

So is there such a thing? Because I'm trying to find out how long my OCD has been there for. Thoughts?

I have often thought if I should make a thread, clarifying the fact that - at this moment - there is no clinical classification for HOCD, POCD, TOCD, or any other theme, such as harm OCD or cancer OCD.

This may change, or has recently changed (If so, let me know), but for now it is all OCD. In fact, Pure OCD is not part of the DSM.

Anyway, as a theme, cancer, along with schizophrenia, is a popular obsession with the OCD crowd. Of course, it is also popular with hypochondriacs, so when a therapist approaches this fear, they must be cognizant of other factors before treating the person.

I have had both obsessions, cancer and schizophrenia.

So this obsessions could be included in a trail of OCD expressions. Of course, a therapist would be the person to give you the lay of the land, after you went over it with them.

Otter.

I've certainly had, and frequently have this fear.
It stems from an OCD fear of death, that's what causes all of these health worries.

I've also had immense fear of having a blood clot, so much so that I had to walk for at least an hour and a half a day in rediculous hope that this would some how prevent it, haha.

I also have POCD, have for about three years now.

Like otter said, though, all we actually have is OCD.
The themes are names we've given them on the Internet and around forums like these to quickly give a name to the situations we're feeling, but they're all the exact same.

My girlfriend has ROCD. Fear she's not good enough to be in a relationship, all stemming from low self esteem.


At the end of the day, OCD affects everyone in different ways, although, we all are doing exactly the same thing and worrying in the same way.

It's best to just look at it as OCD rather than looking at the theme.
To get rid of it, you need to identify it as one.
If you have POCD and fear of death like me for example, you need to just think of both as OCD, because trying to treat the themes won't work.

Look up ERP therapy. This is currently the road I'm going down to get better, and has had many successes.

I would think it's possible for any kind of OCD to exist. It's the nature of the disorder to grab hold of a common fear and run wild with it.

Just an hour ago I woke up with a sharp pain in my chest. Google time!

I also constantly obsess over having an aneurysm. If I get a sudden headache at night I'll set my alarm for some random time in the middle of the night before I go to sleep so I can check to see of I'm not dead.

I will never forget one day back in the early nineties when I was going through what I used to call AIDS paranoia but could just as easily be called "AOCD". This was before I had the internet. I wanted to go to the library and look up my "symptoms" (probably a pimple on my arm or something) but it was a holiday and the library was closed. I agonized all day about it.

LL96 wrote:It's best to just look at it as OCD rather than looking at the theme.
To get rid of it, you need to identify it as one.
If you have POCD and fear of death like me for example, you need to just think of both as OCD, because trying to treat the themes won't work.

This.

Well, I was thinking that fear of having cancer also exist in hupochondria or generalized anxiety disorder (I got diagnosed with that too), but what's the main difference to OCD? The way we try to neutralize our fears?
Maybe it doesn't matter, but I'm still worried if I even have OCD. Because self-harm and cancer are somewhat more realistic than being Trans. So now I fear my TOCD is true. Because I wonder if my anxiety themes I had before even fall into the OCD category. Because they're maybe not as irrational as TOCD. Although I'm scared that TOCD is also realistic in my case.

What makes those fears more realistic? That doesn't imply they are less irrational for YOU.

There is no such thing as cancer OCD, or a certain category based on OCD, as OCD is all the exact same thing in a different way, ive been talking to lisa over skype for some time to help her, this is just another fixation based on an obsession, remember what i said, dont go doubt hunting as much as you want to, or your feeding your reassurance.

I've been a hypochondriac since I was at least four or five years old. I'm not sure, but I think I was hearing a description of ovarian problems, and I promptly began worrying about my ovaries.

Hey, I was four or five, okay? I didn't know I didn't have ovaries. And some people might argue I do have them anyway... Wouldn't bother me if I did. Other than worry about yet another kind of cancer...

I think I don't really need to go on, do I?

Like Lisa, I've wondered where ' ordinary' anxiety and hypochondria stops, and OCD starts.

Either way, I'm screwed.

Well, yeah, exactly! All OCD is anxiety, but not all anxiety is OCD.



Being a hypochondriac is often mistaken for OCD; however, each illness has a number of unique features, which healthcare providers can use to tell these two disorders apart. Let's look at the difference between being a hypochondriac and having OCD

How Are OCD and Hypochondriasis Different?

The biggest difference between OCD and hypochondriasis is the focus of the person’s worry and anxiety. People with OCD have obsessions that relate to a variety of themes, such a contamination, sexuality, religion, personal harm or morals. In contrast, people with hypochondriasis have obsession-like concerns primarily related to their health. These concerns often have to do with developing a serious medical condition, such as cancer.

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People with hypochondriasis are often preoccupied (or even consumed) with bodily symptoms that can be quite vague (“my heart is tired”) or very specific (“my throat is always sore”). People with OCD are generally less preoccupied with physical sensations.

People with hypochondriasis often have difficulty accepting that their problems are anything but physical, and as such, seek medical rather than psychiatric or psychological help. On the other hand, people with OCD are much more likely to seek psychiatric or psychological help for the intense anxiety or distress caused by their symptoms.

Lisa1989 wrote:Well, yeah, exactly! All OCD is anxiety, but not all anxiety is OCD.

Truth!