I finished my FEC at the end of January. During cycle 3 I had a virus which seemed to go on and on for ages. I then read on a FEC fact sheet (not sure which organisation but may have been bcc) that FEC can irritate the lungs. I began to realise it was no longer the virus and possibly the FEC. I can’t describe it other than saying that they feel irritated. At worst I have hours of coughing fits after which they feel a bit better. I also still have the awful taste in my mouth which somehow seems connected. I am very worried about my lungs and whether or not it is reversible, but none of my doctors seem to know anything about it. I am almost finished rads and I mentioned it to the doctor I saw today but he said he had never heard of it. All I know is that my lungs no longer feel like they did before treatment and it’s stopping me doing things like yoga and riding. I just wondered if anyone was experiencing similar or had heard of others having similar side-effects.
Maggie.
Just bumping this up for you Milliemum.
Love T xx
Thanks Moonshine…it does say on the fact sheet that it is unusual.
xxxx.
Since finishing chemo in May 2007 my lungs seem much more liable to irritation and I seem to get coughs every month or so which last about 2 weeks and then slowly go only to return a few weeks later.However I had asthma anyway so assumed that the chemo had exacerbated it and the rads finished it off.It is manageable with inhalers but I can’t do anything really strenuous now.
Thanks Horace. I’m only 2 months post-FEC and I understand that the side effects can take ages to go. I am just hoping that it is reversible as it is really affecting my life at the moment. It does seem to exacerbate previous conditions as you are finding - I have heard this from other people too. And what with the rads on top as you say.
I didn’t have FEC but i have been having problems with my lungs…
I had 4 x AC and 4 x Docetaxol last summer (had my chemo before masectomy) i got breathless only a couple of days after the first docetaxol and it got worse and worse over the 4 cycles.
It did seem to improve once i finished - but about a month ago i started to get breathless again and had to have blood tests to make sure i wasn’t anemic and that it wasn’t a blood clot. I also had a chest xray and ECG - and they were all fine…
My bcn has said it is probably that the chemo has scarred my lungs.
I’m due to see my onc in a couple of weeks so will ask her more then…
Theresa
Theresa, that sounds awful. I hope our lungs haven’t been scarred. I would be very interested to hear what your onc says. Is lung damage a known side effect of your drugs? Mine have been slightly better for a few days and then today, back to huffing and puffing round the house. I find it odd that it is intermittent and doesn’t seem to follow any pattern. I will let you know what my onc says when I see her in a few weeks.
I have been doing some research which I was trying to avoid as I thought I would probably scare myself stupid! I think it is the cyclophosphamide which is the drug we had in common. The last 2 days mine had been very bad again. I’m going to try and speed up the appointment with my onc.
My appointment is not until April 22nd… Mine sounds like yours very intermittant. I keep going a couple of days with out it happening and then suddenly wham… And it doesn’t seem to be exertion that brings it on - it can happen when i am just sitting here etc.
Mine too…I have been resting a couple of days as that seems to help and it was a bit better today and then sitting here tonight, it is awful again. I’m trying to comfort myself by thinking that if it were actual scarring then surely it would be more consistent. I was so convinced it would just go away after chemo ended but as time goes on, I’m getting more worried about it. I’m going to try and talk to my team next week and will let you know if I learn anything.
I saw my onc and she said that she had not come across it before but that she was confident that it would be reversible. She checked me thoroughly and took bloods just to check for an embolism. I felt a bit comforted by this and indeed had a very good day at the weekend with it. Would be interested in how you got on.
Maggie x.