I started getting shortness of breath in May 2011. I usually have allergies in the spring, but I've never had shortness of breath from allergies. I saw an allergist thinking it might be a severe allergic reaction. He prescribed me an inhaler, but after two weeks of no improvement, I went to a general doctor for a physical check-up. I got a clean bill of health, aside from the allergies. At the end of the month, I told the allergist that I wasn't improving any, so he prescribed me a stronger inhaler. After a week or so, I started to develop a coarse voice, which apparently is a known, but not so common side effect of certain inhalers. So I stopped using the inhaler and decided to see a pulmonologist.
The pulmonologist prescribed me another type of inhaler to use along with steroids. It seem to be working. I started to breath better and got my voice back. Then I caught a cold. The shortness of breath returned along with some wheezing. The pulmonologist prescribed me steroids and another inhaler again and told me to return in a month. I started to breath better, but my voice was losing volume. I thought the inhaler was irritating my throat, so I assumed that once I stopped using the inhaler, I would regain my voice. The pulmonologist agreed at the time.
During the steriod/inhaler treatment, I traveled to Spain and Morocco. Unfortunately, Casablanca was very polluted. I couldn't stop coughing and it took so much energy just to talk. I ended up catching a cold again. I was extremely frustrated that I was constantly catching a cold and my condition was not improving after months of inhalers and steroid intake. When I went back to the pulmonologist, he treated me with the same program, because he said the the cold set me back. I spoke to a doctor friend for another opinion and he urged me to get a chest x-ray.
The x-ray showed nodules in my lungs. :( Immediately after, I had a CT scan then a biopsy, which lead to the diagnosis. Given my age and lifestyle, the doctors thought that cancer would be extremely unlikely. They assumed I had a lung infection or some type of auto-immune deficiency, like rheumatoid arthritis.
Looking back, if I knew more about lung cancer, I probably would have insisted on an x-ray or CT scan sooner, which would have helped discover the tumors earlier. The symptoms for lung cancer are fairly general. E.g. Shortness of breath could be associated with asthma. This is part of the reason I'm writing this blog. I don't want anyone to go through what I am going through. As with most cancers, early detection is the best way to increase survival odds. Every time, I hear that a cancer patient dies, I feel so crushed and pained. The person fought, struggled, and didn't make it. It hurts. I feel a connection to people with cancer. When I hug a survivor or another patient, we don't have to say anything to understand each other. We just hold each other tight and give each other strength to go on.
Conclusion: Awareness --> Early detection --> Higher survival rate --> everyone happy. :)
Adult onset of asthma or lung cancer?
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