Does the coughing and SOB ever stop?

[hope4life]

My mom had her left upper lobectomy almost 6 months ago in September 2007. She was 59 at diagnosis last September and has NSCLC adenocarcinoma stage IIIA. Only one non-enlarged lymph node was involved in the aortico-pulmonary window. She had 4 rounds of chemotherapy (carbo/gem) following the surgery and no radiation.

My question is...she is still coughing and SOB after this many months. She tries to walk daily on the treadmill for 30 min, but she is soooo out of breath and turns so red! Her blood pressure has been high before the surgery and still is relatively high (140-50/90 or so). I thought the coughing and SOB would subside after this long.... How long did it take those of you who had a lobectomy to recover from the cough and SOB? Is this normal?

Thanks again for all your input!

[Connie B]

How is your mom's heart? Chemo can affect the heart. But you can also be SOB and cough because of heart problems as well. Having high blood pressure could be the red flag that this may be heart related Has she or you called her doctor and made mention of her problems If so what have they said?

It does take time for the SOB to get better, but she should be feeling better if she's doing the treadmill etc., etc.

Medications can cause SOB too.

Best wishes,

Connie