masspa Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Hi, I was talking to Mom tonight, and she says she's been having more shortness of breath than usual recently (it seems a bit worse since finishing her radiation) She can still get around, but gets a bit more winded. No fever, chills, chest pain - she just had her yearly physical 2 days ago and got a clean bill of health. I'm wondering if this could be a side effect of the radiation - anyone have any insight?? We're off tomorrow for her first post-treatment CT and we will meet with the doc later that morning, so we'll certainly ask her, but any information y'all could share will be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welthy Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Might be radiation related pneumonitis or fluid. The CAT scans may show what's going on. Go Mom!!!! Prayers for good results. Welthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvillella Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 My Radiation Oncologist says that my shortness of breath and overall tiredness is from the radiation. Even once you are finished with the treatments they continue to work for a few weeks afterwards according to my notes. Other than that they can look into Radiation pnuemonitis or COPD. Ralph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don M Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Radiation pneumonitis is likely although it could be fluid. It is inflammation that may or may not go way eventually or could change to radiation fribrosis, a permanent scarring. Doctors sometimes prescribe steroids to halt the process of inflammation and so minimize permanent damage. It has its own risks though. Don M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWest Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 There are many potential causes of increased shortness of breath in patients who have undergone radiation for lung cancer, including pneumonia, a pleural effusion (fluid around the outside of the lung that limits the ability of the lung to expand), progressing cancer, a blood clot in the lungs, etc., but inflammation after radiation that leads to increased shortness of breath is quite common. I wrote a post on radiation penumonitis (inflammation) on my website if you're interested in reading more. It's here: http://onctalk.com/2007/02/03/radiation-pneumonitis/ Take care. -Dr. West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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