would u be kind enough to read this ? i really need some oppinions:(

[den_den]

anxiety over this. if some could give me some ideas i would really really appreciate it, especially before i go and make doctors hate me.
a brief summary of the things i am a 29yr old male with no serious illnesses in the past. smoker for the last 11yrs
(for the last 1.5 months i am in the process of quiting with 1 to 2 cigarettes/day but still using nicotine gums when i get cravings)
about 1.5 month ago i had a weird dull ache on the left side of my chest right about on my heart.
i wasn't too too worried about my heart as both side of the family has absolutely no heart related issues (i know that doesnt mean much),
doctor still wanted an ecg and a blood tests. after the tests my heart was ok and bloodtests were all negative (i dont know what they tested and what negative means)
doctor said it is probably nothing serious but just muscle related. after a few days pain was still there so i went back to the hospital and talked to another doctor, who checked my previous results,
listened to my lungs etc. and said he said it must be muscle related as well.
i have no fever, no sweating, no weight loss, no shortness of breath, no spitting blood, only dry cough (no sputum or nothing with cough, only can get mucus kinda if i suck air from my nose which is sometimes brownish I'm sorry english isnt my first language :( ).
so after seeing the 2nd doc i waited a couple of 3 more weeks and pain was still there so i went back to a different doctor. described him the situation and told him i am very scared that there is somehting wrong with my lungs. especially like lung cancer or something
he listened to my story and then listened to my chest and said my lungs sound as clear as whistle (i dont know exactly what that means). like i said i dont hear anything weird about my breathing even if i really really try taking deep breaths. no wheezing no hoarseness. (this dry cough kinda made my voice a little crackly tho)
anyway, i insisted that i get an xray done oh well so he refered me for the xray. got the xray done and radiologist?? (are they also doctors? i am not sure) and she said i dont have to worry about cancer or anything cos she cant see anything and lungs are looking perfectly fine. also doc. said they were looking ok.
well here i am almost after 2 months still having this dry cough, (tho i dont get it too often just like once in a few hrs a few times then i'm ok for a while, and cough medicines seem to help alot). and i still slightly have the pain on my chest where it was before.
i am really really scared that i have cancer or something like that especially after seeing my grandfather die when i was a little kid.
so after xray, ecg, bloodwork done and 4 doctors saying its not cancer its most likely muscle bruise or trauma i am still very very scared. (should muscle ache or trauma last a lot less then this?)

after such long wait i was expecting this to clear up :-( and i am really really really scared, tomorrow i am planning to go see another doctor and explain the situation maybe he can refer to a psychiatrist. i know for some of you guys this might sound funny me still worrying. but this pain i am having is so real and with this dry cough its making me worry even more. i dont know with whatelse i can ask the doctors to check me maybe ct scans ? but i really want to know for sure why this pain is here on my chest for the last almost 2 monts. :( thanks for reading this long post :(

[den_den]

i still have the pain after 4 months :( .. i actually have a back pain for the last 1 week as well. its on my left shoulderblade right behind where i had the ache on my chest. however this back pain feels more like a lump is there or like i've slept on one of my sons toys that he left on my bed. i dont know. other then all the tests above i also got 1 more blood test done, plus another x-ray and ultrasounds done. doctors still say (9 in total including the family doctor). i dont have cancer or anything serious. they still keep saying muscle trauma (or similar stuff). and advice me to excercise. still kinda upset as i cant get rid of this pain. (btw when i cough pain on the back is more like a sharp stabing pain but when i lift my left arm and cough i dont really feel that pain if i try to cough). again its not when i breath that i feel the pain its only when i make myself cough i get the sharp pain. and if i lift my arm and make myself cough i have no pain. (this is really making me soooo upset :( ).  after 4 months no weight loss or change in appetite, actually i dont cough at all since i quit smoking. just this pain is making me go crazy. :(

[Meash]

Hello! I too was a smoker. I quit about 2 years ago but the first couple months I had pain in my chest and would cough a lot. The more I talked about it the more people had the same problem. I looked at it like my lungs were "healing themselves", scars hurt and when woman menstrate it can be painful. So why wouldnt it be a little painful if my lungs were cleaning themselves?? Maybe sounds weird but it did make me stop thinking about it . But no problems again!

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi. I can understand your anxiety about having cancer, since you've had a bad experience with your grandfather in the past.  However, I think the doctors have examined you adequately and are pretty sure that you don't have lung cancer at this time.  Lung cancer usually shows up as a whitish opacity on chest x-ray. If your radiologist has told you that she can't see anything abnormal on the x-ray film, she's probably right.

You can help yourself reduce the risk of getting cancer by TOTALLY quitting smoking.  I'm glad you've already started the process of reducing your cigarette smoking, but 1-2 sticks a day still increases your risk.  So aim to get rid of the entire smoking habit as soon as possible!

Your chronic dry cough is most probably a result of smoking, called "smoker's cough". This because cigarette smoke is a major irritant of the airways. If your coughing is vigorous enough, it may cause the chest pain you're experiencing.  It's possible that the reason your chest pain hasn't gone away is because you haven't stopped coughing.  And you haven't stopped coughing because you haven't stopped smoking.  So this is another incentive for you to stop smoking entirely.

Just feel free to post if you have any other concerns. Best of luck.