Dry cough after breast cancer

Virgo73

Hi Ladies,

I've been NED for 16 months, and currently on Tamoxifen. I've recently developed a dry throat, that causes me to have a bit of a constant cough. I'm not sick, no cold and do not have allergies. Has anyone else experienced this type of dry throat/cough?

marijen

Yes, I’ve had a dry cough for a year now. I’m going to mention it to my MO in Oct. Did you have radiation?

Virgo73

Hi -- Yes, I had chemo and rads back in 2018... I've had this strange dry throat and cough now for about 3 weeks. I don't cough all day, but sporadically throughout the day... really hits me at night. Of course I now officially freak out with any change to my normal...

marijen

Well California is known for it's bad air. It could just be allergies, smog, or fires. I was visiting last Nov in the Bay Area when they had that huge campfire. It was the worst thing ever. I had a dry throat last summer and thought it was throat cancer but I think I was drinking my tea too hot .

Most of us get hyper vigilant after cancer treatment. That’s a good thing. We have to look out for ourselves

gb2115

Not dry cough, but dry mouth for sure. I also seem to get liquids "down the wrong pipe" more frequently.

Maybe get it checked out?

Ingerp

Ugh. I’ve been coughing for several weeks. I think I only learned a few years ago that allergies can cause a cough (and just because you didn’t have them before doesn’t mean you can’t develop them). Then I attributed it to post-nasal drip. I finished Herceptin in May but my nose is still going like crazy. Then I started using Flonase based on recommendations here, the cough seemed a little worse, and I read that cough is a SE of Flonase. Now I may or may not have a summer cold. My nose was running so much last night it kept waking me up (plus I have a headache). I dunno. I don’t know if I should re-start the Flonase, or try something like Sinex, or. . . ? I guess the one good thing is it doesn’t keep me up at night. Once I fall asleep, I may wake up but not cuz of the cough. Yes my brain has gone to lung/throat cancer, but I think that’s probably silly. I dunno. Between this and my poodle hair that’s just growing out and looks *awful* I am in a mood these days. Grrrrrrr. . .

edwards750

I have had the same thing since last weekend but I also have laryngitis and sneezing. I do have allergies but never had laryngitis before. I did have radiation in 2011 but doubt that’s the cause although lung scarring can show up years later. I know I have scar tissue from radiation because an X-ray several years ago showed lots of lung nodules. The radiologist said it was nothing to worry about.

Fast forwarding to now of course I like some of you start freaking out about lung or throat cancer. I think since we were DX it’s always going to be in the back of our minds. Unfortunately comes with the territory. A friend’s daughter who has BC was afraid a growth that appeared on her finger was BC related. Crazy? Yes but it’s that fear factor that is alive and well in all of us.

Whenever something “new” appears or an ache or pain is constant I immediately comb the internet looking for possible causes. I remember my MO saying if I had a pain that persisted for 2 weeks to come see her ASAP. Fortunately I didn’t have to.

I’m 8 years out in August and I am truly grateful and blessed for that. I don’t look over my shoulder as often now but I’m still guardingly optimistic.

Diane

marijen

I was reading about neuropathy and it can cause chronic cough. Radiation and chemo can cause neuropathy.

neuropathic disorder

• Prof Kian Fan Chung, DSc
• Lorcan McGarvey, MD
• Stuart B Mazzone, PhD

Published:May 03, 2013DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(13)70043-2

PlumX Metrics

Summary

Chronic cough is a common symptom that can be a daunting challenge for clinicians since treatment of the underlying cause does not always provide adequate relief, an obvious cause can remain elusive, and current antitussives have fairly poor efficacy and undesirable side-effects. Patients with chronic cough typically describe a range of sensory symptoms suggestive of upper-airway and laryngeal neural dysfunction. Additionally, patients often report cough triggered by low-level physical and chemical stimuli, which is suggestive of cough-reflex hyperresponsiveness. Pathophysiological mechanisms underlying peripheral and central augmentation of the afferent cough pathways have been identified, and compelling evidence exists for a neuropathy of vagal sensory nerves after upper-respiratory viral infections or exposure to allergic and non-allergic irritants. In this Personal View, we argue that chronic cough is a neuropathic disorder that arises from neural damage caused by a range of inflammatory, infective, and allergic factors. In support of this idea, we discuss evidence of successful treatment of chronic cough with agents used for treatment of neuropathic pain, such as gabapentin and amitriptyline. Regarding cough as a neuropathic disorder could lead to new, more effective antitussives.

marijen

This is from BCO

Coughing

Coughing is a reflex that keeps your nose and throat clear. Coughing can be irritating, but it's actually helping your body heal or protect itself. Your doctor will classify your cough as acute or chronic. Acute coughs are the kind you usually get with a cold or the flu; they start suddenly and can last about 2-3 weeks. Chronic coughs last longer than 3 weeks and may be caused by smoking, asthma, and allergies.

Some breast cancer treatments may cause coughing:

• chemotherapy
• radiation therapy
• some hormonal therapies:
  • Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole)
  • Faslodex (chemical name: fulvestrant)
  • Femara (chemical name: letrozole)
• some targeted therapies:
  • Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab)
  • Herceptin Hylecta (chemical name: trastuzumab and hyaluronidase-oysk)
  • Herzuma (chemical name: trastuzumab-pkrb)
  • Ontruzant (chemical name: trastuzumab-dttb)
• Tecentriq (chemical name: atezolizumab), an immunotherapy

Managing coughing

If you have a cough that lasts for more than 2 or 3 weeks or if you cough up blood, talk to your doctor right away. Since coughing can be caused by so many things, it's important to figure out why it's happening to you. If it's because of another condition, such as a cold or asthma, your doctor can treat it with medication. If your cough is due to breast cancer treatment, you may be able to switch medications.

Other tips to ease coughing:

• Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke, both of which can make your coughing worse.
• Avoid things that may cause allergic reactions. Some of the most common are dust, mold, pollen, and pet dander.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Take a steamy shower or use a vaporizer at night. Warm, moist air can soothe a dry cough.

Anotherone

have you found the reason for it ?

I did not think it was going to be cancer , I was 13 years out but it was...

PrincessButtercup

I finished chemo and radiation over a year ago and have been coughing on and off since then.

AliceBastable

I smoked for decades and seldom coughed except for during a cold every year or two. I stopped smoking last year and now I cough much more frequently. 😠 I think Tamoxifen is drying in general, plus radiation and three bouts of anesthesia could all have a cumulative effect. And we're all much more aware of every weird little thing our body does, that we probably completely ignored in the past.

runor

Immediately after radiation I had a cough that lasted about 6 months. An intermittent, dry, unproductive hack throughout the day. My radiation onc said it was normal after radiation and that it would clear up. It did. Then last summer (2018) I began coughing again. Every hour os so an annoying, tickling / pressure in my throat would cause one, dry hack. No fever. No runny nose. No itchy eyes. Just this stupid cough. Often by the end of the day I was sounding hoarse, losing my voice, but feeling fine. After 6 months of this went to doc who x-rayed lungs (they were good) and put me on steroid inhaler. I did inhaler daily for 2 weeks and coughed the whole time. It did nothing to ease the cough. In desperation I decided to take an antihistamine although I have never had allergies and nothing about that cough felt like an allergy, but the antihistamine cleared it up !

I am coughing again now. It began when the air quality took a dip from forest fire smoke drifting in from far away. I really think my lung is now hyper sensitive to any annoyance, not able to recover itself like before. I think particulate in the air irritates my airways. Unfortunately this time around the same antihistamine (Benadryl) does not seem to be working so well. Mind you...people with true allergies battle them daily and maybe me expecting one pill to clear it up while the air remains hazy is a bit optimistic. But even if you don't feel allergic of have symptoms of an allergy, a antihistamine is an easy way to rule that out as a cause. Sometimes finding out what is NOT the problem is as useful as finding out what is.

LoriCA

I started with the dry cough in June, about two months after I finished rads. It's much worse in the evenings so I tease my husband that I think I'm allergic to him. My RO wasn't concerned about it when I saw her in July (and I haven't yet mentioned to my MO because I have bigger problems to deal with right now). My PET scan showed that my lungs are clear, so it's not lung mets.

I appreciate that info on neuropathy as a possible cause marijen. I experience severe intercostal spasms that have been getting worse over the past year and I believe are from neuropathy. I have been wondering if it's all related somehow. Last week we increased my gabapentin and started a muscle relaxer for the spasms, will see if it has any effect on the cough too. I sure hope my cough doesn't last 6 months like yours runor. It's not only annoying, it's embarrassing when I'm out in public. I'll give the benadryl a try too.

Yogatyme

I had a persistent cough (but not dry) after an upper respiratory viral infection last Dec. Other sx resolved but cough persisted. I thought it was post nasal drip but during my oophorectomy in March, my eardrum ruptured (weird, I know. Mystery to all the docs). Was treated w antibiotic ear drops and the cough and mucus completely cleared up. No problem since then. Our bodies really can develop odd sx and side effects.