question about mets to lungs and congestive heart failure?

[Alice]

Hi,
I haven't posted for a while but have just been reading.
Last year I had to stop Herceptin due to drop in echo. i had symptoms such as shortness of breath, a feeling of having a heavy chest.
Since stopping Herceptin these symptoms have subsided. I also have a history of palpatations going way back. I was diagnosed last year also with lung nodules although I had no symptoms from them and my onc said it could probably be scar tissue.
Just recently I have been having similar shortness of breath and heavy feeling in the chest along with kind of an aching similar to heartburn. I was wondering what the symptoms of lung mets was and could the nodules be mets and not scar tissue?
I know most of you are going to recommend a scan and I know that at some point I will have to go in for one. The dye they use is so hard on my kidney that I avoid them when I can. Any info will be of great help.
Thanks, Alice

[Mary Anne in TX]

Alice, I've spent my life with kidney problems. When I have scans, I just "drown" myself with water for the three days after the scan. Tons of water all day long! Can't leave home for long, but it works! It takes care of the dye causing problems! ma

[hutchibk]

Good to know! I just saw an ad on TV today for a law firm that is gathering kidney patients who have had bad side effects from the contrast used in MRIs... weird. I didn't know that they were hard on the kidneys. The ad talked about stiff joints, etc. after a scan, blah, blah, blah... what kind of symptoms do you all get after a scan with contrast?

[Sherryg683]

How large are the nodules? I had absolutely no symptoms with my 2 lung mets, they were very small. Nodules are pretty common and most are not cancerous. How long have you been off chemo? I had tightness in chest and short of breath for about a year after chemo and radiation. Occaisionally still have it. I have had so many dang symptoms and aches that once I focused in on them, they seemed to get worse and worse. Chemo takes a tole on our bodies and we are more aware now of every ache and pain. I had this AWFUL pain in my liver, gallbladder area that comes and goes. I have had 2 sonograms, not to mention the PET's that I get and they can find nothing there. Of course I am going to recommend a PET to check out those lung nodules and put your mind at ease. ..sherry

[tousled1]

Alice,

The only way to know for sure if the nodules are scar tissues or mets is with either a CT scan or PET/CT scan. I had no symptoms other than some shortness of breath (which I attributed to Herceptin) when I was diagnosed with lung mets and had only had the scan due to my HER2 serum going up. With you having shortness of breath you should definitely have it checked it.

[Lani]

symptoms it seems some describe as being short of breath, air hungry or difficulty taking a deep breath. Have you had any stomach aches with this --what you describe could also be esophageal symptoms (heaviness in chest and heartburn like feelings) Have over the counter heartburn medications helped(if you have taken them?)

Her2neu seems to be necessary to repair GI injury (just as it appears necessary to replace upper respiratory and airway cells). If you look at the thread I started regarding herceptin side effects real or imagined you might find others with similar symptoms.

Hope this helped!

[Becky]

Lani has hit on it dead on. As many of you know, I am a runner. Couldn't even do it when only on Herceptin alone (which I took for 16 months). I started getting into the changeover from walking to running 6 months after Herceptin was over. Now at a year over, I am going 6 miles at a clip with no problems but during and right after, it was walking only. I couldn't take a deep enough breath to even think about it. I attributed it to low red count but I still have that or just the whole chemo thing but, it must have been the Herceptin. None the less, I wouldn't have traded the Herceptin for anything and was grateful for every drop.