Radiation Pneumonitis

I had what felt like asthma about 6 months out from rads. I would start walking and after 10 minutes I would have trouble breathing. The docs immediately ordered CT and MUGA (to rule out heart damage from epirubicin). They found nothing. The symptoms subsided, but a year later scarring on the lung did show on CT (routine CT). Onc was not concerned and since I have had no further trouble, neither am I.

peacestrength, when I had my year follow-up PET scan this past Oct, the doctor who has the imaging center I go to -- and whom I trust and adore -- asked when I had finished my rads.  I said 'two months ago,' and her reply was that what was showing up on the PET scan was just an echo of the rad treatments and nothing was wrong with my lung.  She was the first to bring PET scans to this area, long before the three major hospitals offered them.

I don't know how long the rads will continue to show up on scans, forgot to ask her, but this may hopefully have something to do with what is showing up on your scans.

Best of luck

Carol

Yes, kind of....I've had stuff in my left lung show up since rads but never had a dx name for it.  I always seem to have some type of inflammation or hot spot that never turns out to be nothing....lets hope it stays that way.

Thanks for the input Bevin.  I've never had an actual dx but they always seem to mention something in my lung so maybe it's not the same.  Funny you should mention fibrosis...I have also had problems with my neck and underneath my jawline since rads and I've always described it as fibrosis tissue.  It is a tight and pulling sensation and feels hard.  They didn't use a lead sheild over my neck and I think it got some scatter rads in my opinion.

Jennyboog--no lead shield over my neck either, and I'm 100% positive the scatter radiation destroyed my thyroid.  I'll take synthroid now the rest of my life.  I wonder why they didn't shield my neck?  They weren't radiating anything up there for cancer treatment.  It pi**es me off, just a bit.

hello, ladies.  Just wanted to say, I, too, asked for a shield during radiation.  The RO said we don't do that.  As I was very intimadated and vulnerable, I did not pursue it.   I later bought my own lead shield to cover my neck for future mammograms.  

I'm another one who is sure rads destroyed my thyroid-my endocrinologist thinks so also. I complained about a feeling of a lump in my throat within the first week of rads and was told that they were not even close to my thyroid, but may be exposed to scatter radiation and will probably go away with time. Well 6 months later blood tests confirm I'm very hypo. I don't understand why a thyroid shield isn't offered.

Thanks peace...The biopsy I had to LN's behind sternum showed a granuloma and I was told you get those from sarcoidosis but I have no other symptoms.  So, not sure and the dr's didn't seem to know either.  I'm going to speak to my primary care dr.  Thanks again.

Wow, I feel like a fool. I'm a radiological technologist and didn't even think about asking for a shield. Huh. I have a healed rib fracture from coughing and severe pain from the nerve that runs on my rib cage at my bra line area. I just had my second set of nerve blocks for that problem but I swear I feel like my rib cage is damaged from radiation and it feels like I keep having another broken rib but nothing showed up on xray.  Hope everyone is doing well.

Ask if there are any strong electric fields around the machine when it is delivering radiation.  If so, perhaps it was the electric field making the eyemask material floresce.

Eric

Peace,

I finished 30 external radiation treatments in Jan. Just a few days into my treatments my chest felt varying degrees of burning or heaviness which would come and go.  Radiation oncologist said since the radiation is slightly clipping my right lung that is normal and should go away after treatment stops.  Seven months later the heaviness is still here now and then and just recently am noticing this feeling is usually more pronounced later in the day. I do not seem to be short of breath, but perhaps slightly more fatigued.  My lungs hurt a little on a deep breath when I feel this heaviness. I walk a couple of miles a day and am an active 59 year old and otherwise in excellent health.  I am a slightly anxious person anyway, but my body is telling me this is from the radiation, not all anxiety.  I also experienced burning sensations on other parts of my body and half way through radiation the techs put a thyroid shield on me but said it won't do any good. My hair thinned slightly as well, noticing more strands of hair in my comb and also have had tingling on the top of my head, like a crawling sensation.  We asked the radiation physicist about the symptoms and he said I must be sensitive to the radiation, but the machines do not scatter.  Well this has been my experience and I am coming up on my one year cancer anniversary trying very hard to put this behind me and move on.  Hope this helps a little for you and wish you good health.

peacestreng, I have not been to the doctor yet; it's not that bad; I doubt if they would order an x-ray or CT, probably wait and see.