My mum has previously had chemo and now started radiotherapy for lung cancer. She also has severe COPD. She coughs like every 5 mins which makes her cough up thick green sputum each time. I appreciate there is a cough with COPD but should it be like this? She has an inhaler once a day, red and grey in colour which helps a little bit. She has also taken carbocisteine which doesn't really help. I think she has had a bacterial infection due to chemo and hasn't had the right antibiotics, due to allergies. She has no temperature or anything.
Could this be the COPD? Is it a continual infection? Just at a dead end as to how I can help with the cough......if anything....
Thank you for reading.
Paul
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Paulo1976
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I would definitely take her to the doctor. COPD can produce a lot of coughing and phlegm - my oldest sister has had a severe case for 2 decades... not sure about the color though. When my younger sister had lung cancer she was diagnosed with mild COPD. Due to cancer remodeling her lungs she also developed a MAC lung infection which would have require very strong antibiotics for 1 1/2 years. That was also her life expectancy due to the aggressive form of SCLC so she opted not to treat it. It's important you get your mom checked out....
Unfortunately not. She was diagnosed as terminal when diagnosed. She lived 17 1/2 months and went through chemo until several weeks before she passed, as well as other brain tumor removal a month after diagnosis, Gamma knife to brain twice, radiation for super vena cava syndrome...... Even with all that - or maybe because of all that - she had pretty good quality of life until the last 2 months.
my cousin has advanced COPD and has a cough that sounds similar. (We share a home so I help with her care). Consider making a follow up appointment with her pulmonologist to evaluate her care needs. My cousin used a nebulizer 4 times a day for several years then her doctor put her on a once a day inhaler that controls it just as well.
Everyone's needs are different. She may need to have a pulmonary function test to establish a new baseline.
I had pneumonitis- pretty severe. Due to radiation. Ask the doc about the possibility. Treatment for me was heavy steroids for an extended period of time.
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