Bill Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 During the course of chemotherapy did this symptom steadily improve, stay the same, get worse or fluctuate ? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnmynatt Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 Bill, I've not heard of this before. But, I'm sure someone has and can help you. I will be praying that the symptoms subside and that a miracle is on the way for your wife. Prayers for you, also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted August 30, 2004 Author Share Posted August 30, 2004 tnmynatt Bill, I've not heard of this before. But, I'm sure someone has and can help you. I will be praying that the symptoms subside and that a miracle is on the way for your wife. Prayers for you, also //////////////////// tnmynatt : Thanks for your kind words of support but you must be misunderstanding my question. Hemoptysis (bloody, coughed-up sputum) is one of the most common symptoms of lung cancer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 Bill, Tina was quite correct in her comment. Most of us won't have a comment about this symptom. While hemoptysis is listed as a "symptom" of lung cancer, very few people on this board have experienced it. Some have, of course, but not many. Many of the people here had no "lung cancer symptoms" at all - the lung cancer was discovered because it had metastasized to other areas of the body and caused problems, i.e., headaches from brain mets, bone pain from bone mets in the spine, legs, hips, ribs, etc. and the lung cancer was later discovered as the primary cancer. Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted August 30, 2004 Author Share Posted August 30, 2004 stand4hope Many of the people here had no "lung cancer symptoms" at all - the lung cancer was discovered because it had metasticized to other areas of the body and caused problems, i.e., headaches from brain mets, bone pain from bone mets in the spine, legs, hips, ribs, etc. and the lung cancer was later discovered as the primary cancer. ///////////////// If you had bothered to read my wife's bio before responding you would have noticed that what you state is exactly what happened to her. She only started developing lung symptoms just prior to starting chemo. RE: occurence of hemoptysis, a majority of the lung cancer patients that we see regularly at my wife's oncologist's office eventually experienced this symptom. I don't feel comfortable taking a poll in the chemo room. I thought that this forum would be a more appropriate location to ask such a question. Guess not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 Oh, Bill. I absolutely didn't mean any offense, and of course, you can ask such a question here and feel comfortable to do so. Some might respond and give you their experiences. I was only supporting Tina in her statement that she hadn't heard of it, because we really don't hear too much about it on here. We really don't. I do recall a few, but not very many. There are more symptoms related to breathing and pain than anything else, but there have been lots of other problems besides those. I hope someone posts that can help you with your question. Again, I sure didn't mean to offend you with my response. Sometimes things come across the wrong way when they are written. I have prayed for you and your wife and I wish you nothing but the best. Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl Posted September 14, 2004 Share Posted September 14, 2004 Bill, I have not had any chemo yet, but my only symptom was blood stained sputum which continued for about a month before I got it checked out. As I had a lobectomy 7 weeks ago I have not had any bloody sputum. However I did read somewhere on the net when I was first diagnoed that it can sometimes be an early warning sign in lung cancer. I would talk to your doctor and also get a second opinion on it. Also keep trying to find out at much as you can through the internet. There are many sites which may give you the answer you are looking for. Good Luck Shirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisaRN Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Hi Bill, I am as surprised as you to see how many people have been fortunate enough to avoid this symptom.... as for my husband, coughing up blood was what ultimately led us into the ER.... after his right lung collapsed and his initial diagnosis he had a bronchoscopy with a laser ablation of a mass inside his right main bronchus.... within about 3 days after the bronch the coughing up of blood ceased..... all through radiation to the chest, he was pretty much without this complaint .... however, a few weeks after radiation finished it returned.... and with a vengence...now he not only coughs up blood, but dark reddish black and green mucous.... ( sorry if this is offensive to anyone...but i guess there isnt anything about lung cancer that isnt offensive).... much of the time he coughs up mucous so thick and "meaty" that if i didnt know better i would think that it was pieces of his tumor he was bringing up... all sputum cultures are always negative but the productive coughing wont let up....recently it even began to have an odor....covering med onc Rx'd Levoquin x 10 days but with no relief.... and this sputum cx was also negative.... i feel for you and your wife, i am watching my husband go through this each and everyday, i just keep praying for God to give him a break from it.... it has made it difficult for him to go anywhere, b/c he gets embarrassed, ..... and it just absoultely exhausts him....everytime he has complained to the onc about it, the doc gives us the impression that there is nothing, short of another bronchoscopy, that will help it.... he has asked us to hold off on another bronch for now b/c he is afraid that the bronch could cause other problems and prevent him from tolerating any more chemo.... i hope this helps and i wish you and your all wife the best Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 Coughing up blood can be caused by a number of things but usually it is surface "oozing" from a tumor in one of the bronchi. If the chemo is effective, the bleeding will stop. But it often does get worse before it gets better, especially if you are receiving chemotherapy that causes the platelet count to drop a lot (i.e. Gemzar). It usually is more scary than serious but if the tumor erodes a larger blood vessel it can lead to serious bleeding. Fortunately, this is very uncommon. So if there is a little more blood especially a week or two after treatment starts, it is not necessarily an ominous sign. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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