HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Long lasting cold

bejuce · 01-11-2011, 09:07 PM

Thank you all for your responses! I was feeling really crappy yesterday but better today. I had the misfortune of attending boring meetings in a stuffed conference room all day yesterday. When I got there at 8 my nose was clear, but by 10 o'clock I was all congested again. Went to the bathroom to blow my nose and all came a lot of green mucus. I could feel some mucus in my throat and coughed this nasty green mucus clump with a brownish coloration. That of course freaked me out completely and I spent the rest of the day trying to get a hold of a doctor during my breaks and pretend to pay attention at the meetings.

When I got home at night I called the oncologist on call who told me it's most likely a nasty viral. She said that lung mets usually are not associated with mucus and present themselves with a dry cough or shortness of breath. Not sure if I believe that or not given all that I've read so far online about lung mets.

I have an appt with a primary care doctor tomorrow and hopefully I'll get her to listen to my lungs and tell me that it's just a cold. Either way, I have a chest x-ray scheduled on Monday as part of preparation for a vaccine trial that I'm thinking of joining (see related post) so I should find out one way or the other soon.

BTW, are lung mets usually visible on a chest x-ray? When should I ask for a CT scan?

Thanks!!!

Marcia

01-11-2011, 09:07 PM	#9
bejuce Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 510	Re: Long lasting cold - should I be worried? Thank you all for your responses! I was feeling really crappy yesterday but better today. I had the misfortune of attending boring meetings in a stuffed conference room all day yesterday. When I got there at 8 my nose was clear, but by 10 o'clock I was all congested again. Went to the bathroom to blow my nose and all came a lot of green mucus. I could feel some mucus in my throat and coughed this nasty green mucus clump with a brownish coloration. That of course freaked me out completely and I spent the rest of the day trying to get a hold of a doctor during my breaks and pretend to pay attention at the meetings. When I got home at night I called the oncologist on call who told me it's most likely a nasty viral. She said that lung mets usually are not associated with mucus and present themselves with a dry cough or shortness of breath. Not sure if I believe that or not given all that I've read so far online about lung mets. I have an appt with a primary care doctor tomorrow and hopefully I'll get her to listen to my lungs and tell me that it's just a cold. Either way, I have a chest x-ray scheduled on Monday as part of preparation for a vaccine trial that I'm thinking of joining (see related post) so I should find out one way or the other soon. BTW, are lung mets usually visible on a chest x-ray? When should I ask for a CT scan? Thanks!!! Marcia __________________ ER+ (30%)/PR-/HER-2+, stage 3 Diagnosed on 02/18/09 at 38 with a huge 12x10 cm tumor, after a 6 month delay. Told I was too young and had no risk factors. Found swollen node during breastfeeding. March-August 09: neo-adjuvant chemo, part of a trial at Stanford (4 DD A/C, 4 Taxotere with daily Tykerb), loading dose of Herceptin 08/12/09 - bye bye boobies (bilateral mastectomy) 08/24/09 - path report shows 100 % success in breast tissue (no cancer there, yay!), 98 % success in lymphatic invasion, and even though 11/13 nodes were still positive, > 95 % of the tumor in them was killed. Hoping for the best! September-October 09: rads with daily Xeloda 02/25/10 - Cholecystectomy 05/27/10 - Bone scan clear 06/14/10 - CT scan clear, ovarian cyst found 07/27/10 - Done with Herceptin! 02/15/11 - MVA-BN HER-2 vaccine trial 03/15/11 - First CA 15-3: 12.7 and normal, yay! 10/01/11 - Bone scan and CT scan clear, fatty liver found now on Tamoxifen and Aspirin