Asthma and Chemo

I was on FEC and got more and more breathless as I had more cycles.  There were days when I was breathless after walking from the bed to the bathroom and back.  It improved over time but still on occasion I briefly get breathless.  Just another wonderful side effect of chemo apparently.  Good luck. Karen  

Lillian, I am not asthmatic however after my 1st infusion I did get a chest infection, it was the only time I was sick in 4.5 months. However, I did have trouble breathing through Chemo, particularly when I did Taxol, but it wasnt asthma but was definitely due to the Chemo as when I finished it slowly got better. Hugs Melinda xo

Good luck with it. Hopefully it is only temporary - having a temp seems more likely to be viral. Sending hugs.

I went to a GP today. He thinks I have a virus as I did have a high temp, which I hadn't even noticed. I've been really short of breath today. Last night when the cold air hit I had a lot of trouble catching my breath. I rugged myself up and stayed to my room and warm air. It did make me panic a bit which probably made it worse. 
The doc also gave me ventalin to help me breath if I need but I took it this arvo and ended up in a huge coughing fit. 
I have been having a struggle this week keeping the 'I'm going to die' thoughts away, so you are right it may be anxiety too. The doc mentioned that a cough could indicate the cancer has spread which freaked me out and not helping the thoughts.
My BC nurse is coming over for a chat tomorrow and I see my onc next week, she is visiting me at chemo.
The fun never stops does it ;)

Hi Lillian, Cosette is correct in saying that I had asthma prior to chemo. My asthma is usually triggered by wood smoke -bushfire season is usually when it is at is worst. I didn't have any trouble with asthma during chemo but I did have very bad shortness of breath which was a side effect of the docetaxal. It took the onc quite a while to work out what was causing it. Apparently only 1% of women get this as a side effect - don't know if it is usually women with previous history of asthma though. My oxy sats were constantly in the 80s and I was on oxygen via tank for a bit when things got really bad around my 3rd round. They kept giving me CT scans to check for a blood clot which always came back clear. I felt like I was 150 yrs old because of this. I couldn't walk up any stairs and it was worse at night when I laid down so I had to sleep propped up. The symptoms were definitely different to asthma as there was no wheeze - just incredibly short of breath. If that's what it is, then it will get better after treatment. Mine went away 2 weeks after my last treatment. But still mention to your onc and go to hospital if it gets really bad so they can rule out anything else. Good luck

Nadine

I don't recall seeing anyone talk about the onset of asthma as a result of chemo. I think @Nadi has asthma, but had it prior to diagnosis. Definitely talk to your doctor about that. Could it be related to stress or anxiety around your diagnosis and treatment? Panic can cause shortness of breath.