@arpie I am in the same boat. I finished chemo 3 years ago and within a year of finishing was diagnosed with non ischemic cardiomyopathy. I’ve had every test known to man and they all prove that the damage is caused by the chemo and not any underlying heart disease or structural abnormality. What they do know however is that there are cardioprotective drugs that could have been given and would have helped prevent the damage. I had AC and taxol and my cardiologist from Peter Mac tells me that both of those drugs can effect the heart muscle and that unlike the damage from herceptin which is reversible, the damage from AC in particular is permanent and may be progressive. I’m going into the Alfred hospital in a week to have a right heart catheterisation procedure done and hopefully then they can try to find a better course of treatment as at the moment nothing seems to be working for them. While I remember being told that there could be heart issues, I was never told that they could present so far down the track or that there was an option of medication to prevent damage. I too developed an on going cough but was never given any signs to look out for and only sought medical assistance as I kept fainting ( even when lying down). I now have been diagnosed as having heart failure and it is having quite an impact on my daily life and especially my work life. I understand that the drugs used in chemo are our best line of defence against the dreaded cancer so I don’t regret having them but I do regret not knowing more about the long term side effects and that I didn’t ask more questions of my oncologist. I hope all works out well for your friend and thank you for highlighting this important topic. Knowledge is power.
