7 months post Radiation and always sick!

June2268

I am so completely sick and tired of constantly being SICK!!  Over a month ago I got my 1st cold of the season, lasted about 1 week and done for a week.  Only then to develop another cold only this one by far worse than the 1st cold.  Got on antibiotic as it was so hard to breath and could not get better 10 days out from the antibiotic.  Went to a walk in clinic to find out my oxygen level is perfect score of 100.  They then put me on another antibiotic along with an inhaler and a drug to make me cough less.   3 scripts for a cold that just wont quit.  I am just wondering if anyone else there is having any long term SE from radiation.  The Doc's told me everyone is different and it looks like the road ahead is going to be a long one.  If I cannot breath well after this week on the meds, then I am going in to get checked out and taken seriously........Let me just add prior to this, I have not had anything for 6 straight months.......now I just cannot get better! 

soulswithin

Hmm, I am so sorry that you have this to deal with also! If you have a continual lung infection then maybe you should see a pulmonary specialist. These things can come back alot if you have a run down immune system. Sometimes colds that happen often can be actually be one particular bacteria that keeps coming back. You are not really "catching" something often.

Sounds like you need a full round of blood tests along with lung function tests. After all you have been through, I don't think you should allow them to pass it off as a symptom of chemo or radiation, although that should be checked also, because it could have caused it, and frankly I worry about the same exact thing. Still, no reason to accept it as the norm!

Or it could be viral also. Those come back often whenever we get really tired and have run down immune systems. Do you take immune building suppliments? I bet an immunologist could get to the bottom of this. Best of luck to you, June. Please pursue answers! Insist on a bacteria test and tell them you want to know exactly which it is.

[I'm in to my second week of radiation and I have my first cold in a year! But so far not lung related]

LizinKS

Dear "June,"

A few minutes ago, I wrote a longer post, but I must not have pressed the Submit button. In the missing post,(I left this site to look for treament infoon this topic.  I noted on the "missing post," that another possibility for your cough - that there is a  somewhat common (one-to-eight percent of patients) after-effect called RADIATION PNEUMONITIS. Its most prominent symptom is a really bad cough. Also fever and shortness of breath. (While I didn't have this after-effect,.I learned about this pneumonitis from my radiation oncologist and also from an American Cancer Society booklet in his office.)  It first appears a few weeks to SIX MONTHS, more or less, after radiation treatment.Radiation pneumonitis is treated with anti-inflammatories such as predisone and antibiotics for secondary infections. It is diagnosed through X-rays and blood tests. Please call your radiation oncologist ASAP about this - maybe your family doc could help you out,too, if he/she is familiar with this.This not a permanent condition, but could potentially cause permanent damage without treatment, SO it's definitely a condition to be either ruled out or treated,

There is also a stubbon little respiratory infection going around everywhere, It seems.wildly contagious and its most common symptom.a really terrible cough. I went through about three weeks of Keflex 300 mg. and two bottles of generic Tussionex - a very effective cough med with a mild antihistimine and five mg. of hydrocodone. A one-tsp.dose lasts for 12 hours and is just about the only cough medicine that really tastes good . Your illness could very likely be this infection.Still it would be a good idea to see one of your docs to eliminate or confirm the possibility of radiation pneumonitis. It especially  clicked in my head when I saw that you were seven months post-radiation therapy.

I'll try to paste in one article I found for further info. While another article says the pneumonitis goes away without treatment, this article said just the opposite. Feel better soon! Let us know!- Liz ------------Here's a part of the article:

." In the case of radiation pneumonitis, the tissues in the lungs are damaged by the radiation and the the lungs become inflamed. Sometimes the inflammation is low grade and the patient experiences no symptoms. In other cases, the patient develops radiation pneumonitis symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, and fever.

People with preexisting lung problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) are at increased risk of developing radiation pneumonitis when they undergo cancer treatments. These patients may be monitored especially closely for signs of inflammation, especially because they may have trouble distinguishing the symptoms from the symptoms associated with their existing lung problems. Chemotherapy concurrent with radiation also increases the risk of radiation pneumonitis.

This side effect can be diagnosed with blood tests, which will reveal an elevated white cell count suggestive of inflammation, along with X-rays, which should show the inflammation in the lungs. Treatment involves administration of anti-inflammatory drugs to bring down the inflammation. The patient may also need to be treated for infection because the lungs can be susceptible to infection.

If radiation pneumonitis is not treated properly or it progresses despite treatment, it can develop into radiation fibrosis. Fibrosis involves permanent scarring of the lungs which will alter lung function for the rest of the patient's life. The patient may require supplemental oxygen or other treatments to breathe more easily.