Stress does more damage to your health than people give it credit for. Half the physical symptoms I used to worry about turned out to be tension and anxiety. Sometimes the best medicine is a vacation and a good night's sleep.

I had this same concern and went to see a specialist. It turned out to be much less serious than I thought. But getting professional medical advice gave me peace of mind. If you have insurance, use it — that's what it's for.

My advice: don't self-diagnose using the internet. You'll convince yourself you have some rare terrible disease when it's probably nothing. I did this once and worked myself into a panic over what turned out to be a pulled muscle.

I asked my doctor this exact question. They said most of what you read about this is overblown and the actual risk is small for a normal healthy person. The news loves a scary health headline. Ask your own doctor before you panic.