shortness of breath

don09
don09 Member Posts: 108
in Anal Cancer #1

Hi everyone, hope everyone is doing well, I'm writting today because I have been experiencing shortness of breath, and I dont know if it is one of those long term effects from the chemo or what, I seem to recall from later posts that I read there were a few of you who were experiencing this also, I am quite curious to know if those of you who were what was causing it?  I have an appointment to see a new pulmonary Dr. next week so I'm praying there is nothing else going on with me that is serious, quite frankly I dont think I could take it.  I noticed the shortness of breath started almost immediately after my second round of chemo which was back in Dec.  I think perhaps I caught a mild cold and had a lot of congestion, had a lot of coughing also.  once the cold subsided I have been left with the shortness of breath which hasnt gone away and I'm becoming very concerned about it.  I would really like to touch base with those of you who had this troubling symptom in hopes of some answers or some suggestions that might help.  Thanks, as always for all your great and helpfull support.

Comments

  • Phoebesnow
    Phoebesnow Member Posts: 600 Member
    #2
    Breath

    hi, I had this.  It took me about 2. Years to recover.  I had the shortness of breath a few days into the chemo.  It was my biggest complaint.  good luck.

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #3
    Shortness of breath

    The only time I recall experiencing this was during my treatment.  It was determined to be caused by anemia, which was most likely a side effect of the chemo.  One common symptom of anemia is SOB.  I would definitely ask if this is a possibility.  A simple blood count will confirm or rule out anemia.  I hope you get some answers! 

  • Mollymaude
    Mollymaude Member Posts: 431 Member
    edited March 2017 #4
    Shortness of breath

    Well you definately want to get checked out so Im glad you have the appt next week. Of course if it gets worse acutely get to an emergency room but in the meantime it sounds like an ongoing problem. To give you some peace of mind I suggest you get a pulse oximeter to check your blood oxygenation. I got one at Walmart for about twenty bucks. It will let you know the oxygenation level of your blood which should be in the 90s. And it shouldn't drop too much just walking around. You just put your finger in that little clippy thing like at the doctors office. I've had shortness of breath too and although I know I'm out of shape it seems more than that. Like I went hiking and had to stop on the steep parts just to catch my breath. I can feel out of breath with one flight of stairs even. I know the 5FU can damage lungs so I was thinking it was just one of those things. I haven't had any testing for it and it's not severe but I don't think it's just in my head either. I'm sorry you have it but it is reassuring to hear other people have had these weird things. My other weird thing is my balance is worse, like I sometimes feel I'm going to fall over when I close my eyes in the shower.

  • Mollymaude
    Mollymaude Member Posts: 431 Member
    #5
    Lung damage

    just googled both mitomycin c and 5FU and they can both cause lung damage. But I think since you've been having symptoms since December if it was severe it would have been caught by now. I think a lot of times it isn't all or nothing with the chemo damage, by that I mean we can have this change we notice in our own bodies but we still fall within normal paremeters on medical testing. I do feel like the chemo and radiation ages your body in general.

  • don09
    don09 Member Posts: 108
    #6
    Mollymaude said:

    Shortness of breath

    Well you definately want to get checked out so Im glad you have the appt next week. Of course if it gets worse acutely get to an emergency room but in the meantime it sounds like an ongoing problem. To give you some peace of mind I suggest you get a pulse oximeter to check your blood oxygenation. I got one at Walmart for about twenty bucks. It will let you know the oxygenation level of your blood which should be in the 90s. And it shouldn't drop too much just walking around. You just put your finger in that little clippy thing like at the doctors office. I've had shortness of breath too and although I know I'm out of shape it seems more than that. Like I went hiking and had to stop on the steep parts just to catch my breath. I can feel out of breath with one flight of stairs even. I know the 5FU can damage lungs so I was thinking it was just one of those things. I haven't had any testing for it and it's not severe but I don't think it's just in my head either. I'm sorry you have it but it is reassuring to hear other people have had these weird things. My other weird thing is my balance is worse, like I sometimes feel I'm going to fall over when I close my eyes in the shower.

    Thank you Mollymaude for your

    Thank you Mollymaude for your reply, I didnt know that 5FU caused lung damage, which is especially scary to me since prior anal cancer I had lung cancer. I went through treatment for that in 2010. I passed the 5 yrs. mark with clean scans, but my lungs were already fried from all the radiation as a result.  Since I know anal cancer targets liver and lungs, and I am now wondering if this is the reason for the shortness of breath I have been experiencing.  Scary! but thank you for your input and response.

  • Mollymaude
    Mollymaude Member Posts: 431 Member
    #7
    Don09

    Please don't be scared! Go out and get the pulse oximeter if possible and check your oxygenation. I bet you are where you are supposed to be in the 90s. It's a good test to see if your lungs are doing the job because breathing is what oxygenates your blood. Even if there is some damage most organs have more capacity than we need - that's how you can live and do just fine without a kidney or after removal of a lobe of liver. And you shouldn't have any mets since I'm assuming you've had a recent CT after treatment.

     

  • eihtak
    eihtak Member Posts: 1,473 Member
    edited March 2017 #8
    don09.....

    Hoping today is a good one for you! 

    I recently posted about a concern of shortness of breath for myself as well. Since I had a scheduled appointment I brought this up with my PCP who is extremely thorough. After a chest x-ray, EKG, and echocardiogram everything checked out just fine. I do have a slight leaky heart valve that I've had for years and prior to my initial treatment over 6 years ago. The echocardiogram showed it to be unchanged. 

    Regardless I still have occasional shortness of breath especially upon exertion like shoveling snow which seems never ending in Wisconsin where I live. I have no chest pain, and no other symptoms. While this may be normal for some, it is new for me and not something I've had before. I too had a cold prior to noticing this change.

    After seeing my PCP I saw my oncologist who agreed to do my next scheduled scan a little early, but could not right away detect anything alarming. My blood work and oxygen levels were excellent ?????

    I did have surgery to remove the left lower lobe of my lung two years ago due to anal cancer mets, but find it unusual that this symptom would just begin now......then again, could be that the effects of trauma from surgery and additional chemo just take time to accumulate and I often think this is why long term side effects of treatment are not discussed by our doctors.....because they are much removed from the initial diagnosis and care plan. It was suggested to me that I may have developed adult onset asthma which is a possibility ??????

    I will be scanned soon, so hoping to have answers then. Until that time, my SOB is not so bad that it prevents me from most activities, just concerning and makes me apprehensive to push myself physically too often. After that if I have no answer I plan to follow up with a pulmonologist as well.

    Please keep us posted and know you are in my thoughts and prayers.

    Be well......

    katheryn

  • Phoebesnow
    Phoebesnow Member Posts: 600 Member
    #9
    Mollymaude

    Hmmmm...I have that problem with closing my eyes and losing my balance.  I have ataxia, whether related to the chemo, minocycline, or hereditary or maybe the perfect storm.  We cannot find the cause, it is really a symptom and not a disease.  A few years prior to tx I had started to stub my toe occasionally and then I had trouble running and trying to ride my bike hands free.  After tx, I was falling during walking, walking like a drunk person and having involuntary hand movements, I dropped things a lot, I would try to pick things up off the floor and just keep missing it.  I had excessive thirst, no tolerance for heat or cold and outburst of uncontrollable laughing and night terrors, along with night sweats And incredibly horrible leg cramps that I now get throughout my entire body.  Fun times!   things are basically the same now.  I can control it somewhat or even a lot by abstaining from gluten, stress, and getting plenty of rest (which is hard to do with this condition).

     

    i have a lot of hip pain sometimes I scream out loud from groin pain.  It is so unexpected, I will be sitting there and it will be as if someone came up and stabbed me in my groin.  I can fall to the ground, scream out or even cry.

     

    But I manage....I work, I clean, I love, I surf.  I feel blessed for every day I can do these things.

     

    Oh and the pizza was amazing!!!

     

    Thank you everyone for being here.  If I help anyone figure out their problems with all my crazy symptom, I will be glad to have been of service.

     

     

  • Mollymaude
    Mollymaude Member Posts: 431 Member
    #10
    Bakance

    Im going to a physical therapist who confirmed balance problems were common in the people she sees who have had chemo. The gift that keeps on giving! Glad the pizza was good!

  • Mollymaude
    Mollymaude Member Posts: 431 Member
    edited March 2017 #11
    Whoops

    Balance!

  • mxperry220
    mxperry220 Member Posts: 496 Member
    #12
    Shortness of Breath

    I had shortness of breath for around 2 years post treatment.  I am a little over 8 years post treatment and have no shortness of breath problems now.

    Mike

  • don09
    don09 Member Posts: 108
    edited March 2017 #13
    Thank you

    Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement, it is soooooo wonderful to have this site along with great concerning people like all of you.  I go for my post treatment pet-scan next week so perhaps that might reveal the reasons for the shortness of breath, if not answers might come from pulmonary Dr. which is after the pet.  All in all I am hoping it is nothing more than a side effect and will eventully pass with time.  Thank you all again each and everyone of you......................Bless you all.

  • technicolor
    technicolor Member Posts: 12 Member
    #14
    I do feel like the chemo and radiation ages your body in general

    Ever since I completed my chemo/radiation I have had multiple side effects, among these is the shortness of breath.  It is getting better, been 9 mos. since I completed my treatment.  I've seen a pulmonary doctor and had many tests.  I was told my oxygen level dropped under 90 while I slept and for a while was on oxygen at night only.  Had a sleep study and was told I stop breathing about 13 times an hour.  Now the doctor wants to do another sleep study with a C-Pap machine.  What bothers me is I never had any of this or the other side effects until the treatment for my cancer.  I take 2 blood pressure meds and never had high blood pressure before.  Fast heart rate too yet the EKG shows I am normal, just have a fast heart rate!  I get tired easily but I do have more energy than a few months ago.  

    When I saw the heart doctor a young intern told me that although doctors don't like to talk about it, chemo and radiation do accelerate the aging process.  At last I feel like I have an answer, not a good one necessarily, but an answer.  I want to hope that this can be reversed some what.  What do you think?

  • Mollymaude
    Mollymaude Member Posts: 431 Member
    edited August 2017 #15

    I think your body is constantly trying to heal the damage from the chemo and radiation. That's what accounts for improvements even a couple of years out from treatment. Taking good care of yourself and getting enough sleep, hydrating, eating well and exercising are all important. Those things sound very simple but for example today I didn't do a very good job following my own advice. I got too little sleep, ate badly, and didn't exercise. The only thing I did off the list was drink enough fluids. I dont think at this point there is anything besides your own body's ability to heal that's going to reverse the damage- no fancy supplement or treatment.

  • Bellen
    Bellen Member Posts: 281 Member
    #16
    Shortness of breath

    Hello - I have CRC with liver mets - having chemo currently.  I have had shortness of breath and each time my hemoglobin was low.  I have had three blood transfusions, and they help to reduce.  I always know when my hemoglobin is low because I experience shortness of breath.  My blood is always checked prior to having chemo.

  • technicolor
    technicolor Member Posts: 12 Member
    edited September 2017 #17
    Mollymaude said:

    I think your body is constantly trying to heal the damage from the chemo and radiation. That's what accounts for improvements even a couple of years out from treatment. Taking good care of yourself and getting enough sleep, hydrating, eating well and exercising are all important. Those things sound very simple but for example today I didn't do a very good job following my own advice. I got too little sleep, ate badly, and didn't exercise. The only thing I did off the list was drink enough fluids. I dont think at this point there is anything besides your own body's ability to heal that's going to reverse the damage- no fancy supplement or treatment.

    I like your answer and think

    I like your answer and think this is the best path to take.  I am thankful for each day I have and the slow but steady improvement.  Good luck to us all!

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