Can treatment for breast cancer (full chest wall radiation, Cytoxin and Adriamycin) cause fatigue and shortness of breath?
The pectoralis major muscle will need to regenerate after full chest wall radiation. The radiation caused some inflammation in the muscle, which causes soreness and stiffness but disappears with time and healing. Some of the radiation may have affected your lung, causing coughing or shortness of breath with exertion. This, too, is due to a temporary inflammatory condition in the lungs. The inflammatory process and swelling in the area of treatment is also likely to account for the feeling at the base of your throat. The drug Adriamycin may cause a heart problem that causes shortness of breath, fast or irregular heart beat, and swelling of feet or lower legs. This can occur one to six months after the start of treatment. Fatigue is associated with both types of treatment and worsens with the extent of treatment, or toward the end of treatment. Fatigue may not even start until after radiation is over and may last several months after treatment is finished. These symptoms should subside w
