Shortness of breath

With the history of afib and shortness of breath, I'm relieved they have worked you up for a blood clot.  If that is ok, I suspect you are anemic from the chemo. I was short of breath with minimal exertion starting after my 4th treatment.  My numbers never went low enough to need a transfusion but I definitely had to pace myself.  On the positive side, I bounced back pretty fast after I was finished. 

Hello, Tina,

Like Connie, I had shortness of breath. Mine started between my fifth and sixth chemo, when my red blood cells dropped into the "anemia" range, and lasted for about six weeks after the last chemo. I didn't associate the red blood cell drop with the shortness of breath until my nurse practioner explained it. My RBC count was high enough that it didn't disrupt the chemo, and I think that's what my team was monitoring. In other words, it was okay to have it drop low enough to get short of breath, as long as it didn't go so low that chemo would be dangerous. Shortness of breath for me meant that I was winded walking from my car to my office in the morning and from my driveway to my house in the evening -- probably less than 100 steps total. Like Connie, I bounced back pretty fast once the final chemo was done with me. (I was so focused on the date of the final chemo as the date it would all be over that I forgot to factor in that after any chemo -- final or otherwise -- the chemo drugs will do their number on the body for a bit, so you don't start rebuilding on day one.)

It's great that your care team is checking everything out, since you may be experiencing something else. 

Best,

Molly

Getting chemo now for breast cancer. I was finishing the fourth treatment of Adriamycin, which ended up damaging my heart. 

My hemoglobin was going down a lot with each treatment (every two weeks, and only 4 treatments as maximum). Mid November, my family got the coronavirus and I had to leave that house. I had already experienced some shortness of breath. I couldn't walk a block without having to rest, and I couldn't walk to the bathroom without gasping for air.

Still, I wasn't sure if I had the virus, if it was the anemia, or the heart damage. My chemo was stopped for two months (because of quanratine and I needed a visit with a cardiologist before continuing). I ate well during the two months with no chemo, but the shortness of breath persisted.

When I finally went back to the oncologist and I told her that I had an episode of almost fainting at the covid testing site and they had to put me on a wheelchair and I couldn't even talk, she said I needed blood and she couldn't give me chemo for another week and half.

I got two pints of blood and next day I was normal again. A week later my tests for hemoglobin came out OK and had Taxol, Herceptin and Perjeta for the first time. I still need 11 more weekly Taxol treatments and 17 Herceptin/Perjeta so I was hoping that only Adriamycin would do that to me, but I can see that others can do that, too.

Worrying about neutrophils now that are halfway on the "below normal" bar already in my app. I asked what I can do about that and oncologist said nothing. That worries me because even nurse thought that day that I wouldn't be able to get chemo because of low neutrophil count.

This thread is another wonderful example of how we all help each other. I'm so glad we found each other!

I'm so sorry you're having these problemsm Tina. I'm just about a month behind you on the treatment schedule...I have round 3 on Tuesday. I've been pretty lucky so far with the side-effects, but I know they are cumulative, so I'm trying to mentally prepare myself. My bloodwork has held up so far, but I know that can change. 

None of us have really discussed it, but I can't help but wonder how much the stress of the pandemic has effected us all. I feel a lot of fatigue. I start to think how nice it would be to make an effort to look decent...put on some makeup and "street" clothes (not warmup pants!) and go have a nice dinner somewhere. Like.....that would make me feel better to pretend to be somewhat normal for a couple of hours. And then I think about the virus and my immune system and decide, no, it's not a smart idea. We're in Texas and the virus isn't bad here like in many other places, but it's here, of course. Then I wonder....how would it be different if we didn't have the stress of a cancer diagnosis and treatment without the added stress and fear of that virus hanging over us??? Being afraid of the virus is enough...and it's not that I'm necessarily so afraid ot it in and of itself...although that is plenty...but what I'm really afraid of is that if I was to get it, it would interrupt/delay my treatment and that that could have dire consequences.

i was just wondering how y'all feel about that? Thank goodness I love being at home, but I wonder if I could go out into the world and do some "normal" things I might feel better physically and emotionally. I'm looking forward to 2021 getting a whole lot better for all of us very soon!

Prayers to all,

Alicia

Thx for reading my story! I need to update it!
When the final pathology report after the second surgery finally came back....5 long weeks afterwards...My final diagnosis was Stage 2, endometriod adenocarcinoma. The problem was the slides from hysterectomy (Fallopian tube cancer, moderately differentiated, Type 2) didn't exactly match slides from second surgery (endometriod adenocarcinoma, poorly differentiated, tiny tumors found and removed from bladder, a colon "bumper," outside of rectum, and a pea-sized spot near vaginal cuff). All cancer removed in both surgeries was enmeshed in endometriod/endometriosis tissue. GO's report even used the word "synchronous.") As in the cancer in all those places developed in tissue that may have been there for decades and had not necessarily spread. I had asked him about that before 2nd surgery. I didn't understand how I could have this tiny tumor in that tube, on the distal end of the tube, on the stroma of the ovary, and yet NOT on the ovary! My idea was that if the tube was dumping cancer cells, how did they MISS the ovary??? I said, "Isn't it more likely that the endometrial tissue was there.....laying there for years..and then became cancerous? As in it didn't spread there, but happened simultaneously?" His reply, "Well, we'll never know because we weren't there!" Weeks later the word synchronous shows up on his report!! Huh.....maybe my question wasn't so crazy! It mattered to me because spread cancer is a lot different than synchronous cancer! The extra 2 weeks for the pathology report was to determine "primary" tumor. It stated 88% certainty: Germ cell. GO's report says that's "not possible" because both my ovaries were cancer free! So he's treating me as ovarian with 6 rounds Paclitaxel & Carboplatin. From everything I've read, because the Fallopian tube is an open-ended structure and is believed to dump cancer cells into pelvis (and my peritoneal wash did have malignant cells), even if I had been Stage 1 the best treatment would be chemotherapy.

I've learned so much from all the ladies on this board! Be patient for pathologs reports. Pathology is not an exact science and sometimes they never can determine a "primary" tumor. Ice your hands and feet. Chemo "is doable." And many other things!

oh..,and to what Primavera said about no one icing at her treatment center....I'm the only one doing it at my place! I asked GO about it...and he kind of fumbled around...well, yeah, others do it, but not like you! I didn't even bother to ask him to clarify! I think he means others do it, but not intently and consistently like I do! 

Hope y'all have a good first week of 2021!

XO, Alicia

**Note: Another member suggested I copy my post to this thread, so it didn't get lost for others. I've copied it here**

Yes, I experienced that. My chemo finished 2 1/2 years ago. By round 4 I was very short of breath and could hear swishing in my ears, matched to my pulse, when I put my head on the pillow. By round 5, my hemoglobin had gotten so low I needed a blood transfusion, not uncommon with this chemo (carboplatin and taxol). By round 6 I could barely walk across the room and it took me a while to climb the stairs to bed. I'd been a runner before chemo! Soon after round 6 I was rushed to the hospital for an emergency blood transfusion because my hemoglobin had reached a dangerously low level. I was told this was not unusual and things gradually got better over time after chemo was over. By a month out I could sleep without swish-swish-swish in my ears and was starting to take long-ish walks again.

Do you know your hemoglobin levels from your blood work?

Tamlen

So far I have noticed shortness of breath only when exercising. I walk 3-5 miles at a time and have climbed back on my bike. Cycling is when I notice it the most even keeping my power level at 1. My heart rate shoots up sporadically as well during these cycle sessions so I will monitor and adjust. I focus hard on diaphragmatic breathing to get breathlessness under control.

I had been training for endurance triathlons when diagnosed. Spent all of 2020 training then being told event was delayed or canceled. Did lots of virtual events. Did 10 mile run day before my surgery--they wondered why I was dehydrated! Anyway, I am determined to do something everyday even in bad weather--I live in northern Utah so walks are bracing to say the least. I asked my GO about the HR spikes and she said since it doesn't stay elevated it's probably nothing but to tell med onc before next chemo round.

Thanks to all for telling your stories!

Deb