Hi there,

I've seen a lot of similarly panicked posts and I'm really hoping that I'm just another one but I'm interested in if anyone has any advice on the following.

I'm a 32 yr old male, smoking a pack a day since 19yrs old in addition to daily cannabis smoking (though have been using a vaporizer). While I'm sure many do not agree with either of those habits, I'm hoping I could just get some objective feedback from someone.

For about a year on and off I have experienced a dull to sharp pain in my right chest -- sometimes where the ribs meet my sternum is sore, sometimes feels like an air pocket or burp locked in middle of my chest, sometimes seems to radiate from middle chest to back area between shoulder blade and spine, sometime is knife like sharp but mostly dull. Sometime I reach under my lower rib and "grab inside" my cage and it seems to hit the sensation - other times i poke in between my upper ribs and it seems to resonate to my back and relieve pressure. I freaked when i saw one symptom of lung cancer is frequent chest and should blade pain -- I wonder if this is close to it?

Now, I do have lots of daily pains due to poor sleeping, infrequent exercise etc. I lost my job so no health insurance and I am trying to get a chest xray from the free clinic. That said, I'm getting the runaround and so the mental fear and paranoia are mounting.

My question is basically if anyone can suggest whether this could be anything but something awful like lung cancer. I know I run the risk until I stop for good but I'm starting to feel like there is no way this isn't something lung cancer related. Checking symptoms online doesn't help.

The nurse checked my breathing and said I sound fine except for a bit a of smoker's lung but that she doesn't think it is likely that I have anything serious. I am going to the xray as soon as i get paid at the end of the week but if i'm making a big deal out of something that most likely sounds like nothing I need to hear it. I just keep thinking that people have been smoking for twice as long and don't have anything but i know that is false comfort.

if it makes a difference -- i rarely get this after smoking and generally do not feel the pain when inhaling -- after exhaling sometimes it will creep up but if i take a deep breath and hold it i don't seem to experience any discomfort

any thoughts? will a chest xray even prove one way or the other what this could be? please help thank you