At any age, but especially if you’re up in years or have a precarious health history or diagnosis, if you experience anything that doesn’t seem right and you have any sense that it might be serious or lead to something serious, deal with it ASAP. Just “shaking it off” doesn’t make you a better man or woman. It could mean that you’re giving whatever the problem might be the opportunity to get worse. My suggestion is to nip it in the bud.
I did that with my prostate cancer. As soon as I was diagnosed with this potentially deadly disease, I went through various stages of grief. Those stages included shock and dismay, which was followed by anger. Then I went into the “why me” mode. But within a day or so, I came to terms with my problem and went into “let’s get this taken care of mode.”
This included researching the disease, investigating treatments, choosing my treatment, identifying the facility and provider I wanted to use, preparing for my surgery, being a cooperative, upbeat patient in the hospital, and rehabbing the best I could after my surgery. One of the most important other things I did was to feel and express my appreciation for catching this in time, choosing a great surgeon, and having a successful surgery.
Being proactive and expressing appreciation are the most positive things you can do when confronted with a serious health problem. Focusing on the negative and letting things fester are probably the most negative responses.
I hope you’ll choose the former response and not the latter one.
Good health to you!