cough concerns? additional questions

Once again I'm asking for comments from the list. I tend to be a worrier,
and I don't like to worry my wife. She's 13 years post treatment ---
lumpectomy and radiation.
She had a bit of a cough and some mucus. Saw the doctor a few weeks ago, he
told her to use some cough medicine.

The cough didn't go completely away, but did decrease a lot. It has not
awakened her at night, has not been strong, racking coughs.
In fact, this weekend it didn't seem to bother her at all and she was almost
thinking of cancelling the visit.
I said she should go.
Doc did a breath test and said her capacity? was slightly dimnished. He
thought perhaps allergy or asthma, or something else.
He gave her a prescription for an inhaler. Wife asked what the next step
might be and he said x-ray if it didn't go away in 10 days or so.
She asked for the x-ray now and he agreed, just to ease her in mind.
She's getting the x-ray today.
Needless to say, as this group can understand, I'm a bit nervous.
Any comments, or thoughts on additional questions we should ask would be
appreciated.

Again, the cough does not wake her and it seems to come mostly in stufft
situations.

Thanks,

Ed

Ed Kratz wrote:
> Once again I'm asking for comments from the list. I tend to be a worrier,
> and I don't like to worry my wife. She's 13 years post treatment ---
> lumpectomy and radiation.
> She had a bit of a cough and some mucus. Saw the doctor a few weeks ago, he
> told her to use some cough medicine.
>
> The cough didn't go completely away, but did decrease a lot. It has not
> awakened her at night, has not been strong, racking coughs.
> In fact, this weekend it didn't seem to bother her at all and she was almost
> thinking of cancelling the visit.
> I said she should go.
> Doc did a breath test and said her capacity? was slightly dimnished. He
> thought perhaps allergy or asthma, or something else.
> He gave her a prescription for an inhaler. Wife asked what the next step
> might be and he said x-ray if it didn't go away in 10 days or so.
> She asked for the x-ray now and he agreed, just to ease her in mind.
> She's getting the x-ray today.
> Needless to say, as this group can understand, I'm a bit nervous.
> Any comments, or thoughts on additional questions we should ask would be
> appreciated.
>
> Again, the cough does not wake her and it seems to come mostly in stufft
> situations.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ed
>
>

Patience. As long as it is diminishing, I wouldn't worry. See what the
x-ray says.

There are any number of causes for a persistent cough. Probably the
most common one is acid reflux from the stomach, which possibly fits the
bill here. You could ask the doctor about that, maybe he could try her
on an antacid.

I dare say lung mets could present somewhat like that, but it is a
diagnosis of last resort. The partial effectiveness of the cough
medicine suggests not; that the inflammation is higher up the airway.

If everyone who got a cough (or even just the cancer survivors who did)
insisted on x-rays there'd be extra cancers from the x-rays, and is it
worth adding a small risk of a life-threatening disease just for peace
of mind? In the unlikely event that it is mets, diagnosing it early
doesn't give much clinical benefit. But I do understand that you want to
know.


Tim Jackson

Ed--

I caught a cold over 2 weeks ago and have had a lingering cough ever since.
Five years ago this would just have been an annoyance, but now that I've had
BC everything becomes a worry. Could this be "it?" I've told myself that
if it doesn't go away in 2 more weeks I'll call the oncologist. This is how
life is gonna be from now on. Every pain, every cough, every memory lapse
triggers fear of death. I didn't respond to your original post because I
don't have any support or information to offer, but just to let you and your
wife know....we all know how you feel!

Eva

"Eva" <EvaDStructionNOT@NOTverizon.net> wrote in message
news:ES1Xi.4185$%n.1839@trndny07...
> Ed--
>
> I caught a cold over 2 weeks ago and have had a lingering cough ever
> since.
> Five years ago this would just have been an annoyance, but now that I've
> had
> BC everything becomes a worry. Could this be "it?" I've told myself that
> if it doesn't go away in 2 more weeks I'll call the oncologist. This is
> how
> life is gonna be from now on. Every pain, every cough, every memory lapse
> triggers fear of death. I didn't respond to your original post because I
> don't have any support or information to offer, but just to let you and
> your
> wife know....we all know how you feel!
>
> Eva
>
In the general population, more than 90% of coughs that persist more than
three weeks are caused by one or more of: (1) post-nasal drip, (2) asthma,
or (3) esophageal reflux. A little over 2/3 of cases have two of these and
about 1/6 have all three. Look for and treat those first and see if the
problem goes away.

Thanks for your response. I appreciate it.
Ed
"Tim Jackson" <tim@tim-jackson.co.uk> wrote in message
news:13ijb60juc01v41@corp.supernews.com...
> Ed Kratz wrote:
>> Once again I'm asking for comments from the list. I tend to be a
>> worrier, and I don't like to worry my wife. She's 13 years post
>> treatment --- lumpectomy and radiation.
>> She had a bit of a cough and some mucus. Saw the doctor a few weeks ago,
>> he told her to use some cough medicine.
>>
>> The cough didn't go completely away, but did decrease a lot. It has not
>> awakened her at night, has not been strong, racking coughs.
>> In fact, this weekend it didn't seem to bother her at all and she was
>> almost thinking of cancelling the visit.
>> I said she should go.
>> Doc did a breath test and said her capacity? was slightly dimnished. He
>> thought perhaps allergy or asthma, or something else.
>> He gave her a prescription for an inhaler. Wife asked what the next step
>> might be and he said x-ray if it didn't go away in 10 days or so.
>> She asked for the x-ray now and he agreed, just to ease her in mind.
>> She's getting the x-ray today.
>> Needless to say, as this group can understand, I'm a bit nervous.
>> Any comments, or thoughts on additional questions we should ask would be
>> appreciated.
>>
>> Again, the cough does not wake her and it seems to come mostly in stufft
>> situations.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Ed
>
> Patience. As long as it is diminishing, I wouldn't worry. See what the
> x-ray says.
>
> There are any number of causes for a persistent cough. Probably the most
> common one is acid reflux from the stomach, which possibly fits the bill
> here. You could ask the doctor about that, maybe he could try her on an
> antacid.
>
> I dare say lung mets could present somewhat like that, but it is a
> diagnosis of last resort. The partial effectiveness of the cough medicine
> suggests not; that the inflammation is higher up the airway.
>
> If everyone who got a cough (or even just the cancer survivors who did)
> insisted on x-rays there'd be extra cancers from the x-rays, and is it
> worth adding a small risk of a life-threatening disease just for peace of
> mind? In the unlikely event that it is mets, diagnosing it early doesn't
> give much clinical benefit. But I do understand that you want to know.
>
>
> Tim Jackson

Eva,
Thanks for your reply. I figured people in this group would understand how
I felt, and appreciate the support.
Ed
"Eva" <EvaDStructionNOT@NOTverizon.net> wrote in message
news:ES1Xi.4185$%n.1839@trndny07...
> Ed--
>
> I caught a cold over 2 weeks ago and have had a lingering cough ever
> since.
> Five years ago this would just have been an annoyance, but now that I've
> had
> BC everything becomes a worry. Could this be "it?" I've told myself that
> if it doesn't go away in 2 more weeks I'll call the oncologist. This is
> how
> life is gonna be from now on. Every pain, every cough, every memory lapse
> triggers fear of death. I didn't respond to your original post because I
> don't have any support or information to offer, but just to let you and
> your
> wife know....we all know how you feel!
>
> Eva
>
>

Thanks for your answer. I wish you good luck.
Ed
"Eva" <EvaDStructionNOT@NOTverizon.net> wrote in message
news:ES1Xi.4185$%n.1839@trndny07...
> Ed--
>
> I caught a cold over 2 weeks ago and have had a lingering cough ever
> since.
> Five years ago this would just have been an annoyance, but now that I've
> had
> BC everything becomes a worry. Could this be "it?" I've told myself that
> if it doesn't go away in 2 more weeks I'll call the oncologist. This is
> how
> life is gonna be from now on. Every pain, every cough, every memory lapse
> triggers fear of death. I didn't respond to your original post because I
> don't have any support or information to offer, but just to let you and
> your
> wife know....we all know how you feel!
>
> Eva
>
>

Thanks for the support.
Good luck to you.

Ed
"Eva" <EvaDStructionNOT@NOTverizon.net> wrote in message
news:ES1Xi.4185$%n.1839@trndny07...
> Ed--
>
> I caught a cold over 2 weeks ago and have had a lingering cough ever
> since.
> Five years ago this would just have been an annoyance, but now that I've
> had
> BC everything becomes a worry. Could this be "it?" I've told myself that
> if it doesn't go away in 2 more weeks I'll call the oncologist. This is
> how
> life is gonna be from now on. Every pain, every cough, every memory lapse
> triggers fear of death. I didn't respond to your original post because I
> don't have any support or information to offer, but just to let you and
> your
> wife know....we all know how you feel!
>
> Eva
>
>