Problems Breathing

My Dad finished his Chemo and Radiation for throat cancer on the 4th February 2009. He lost quite a bit of weight (45 pounds) and is now struggling to put any of it back on. We are seeing a nutritionist which has actually helped in that he is not losing any more weight, but recently he sated having problems breathing. He says he is feeing like he is stiffling especially at night. There is still a lot of swelling in his throat and he still has some mucus, dry mouth etc. He is also a diabetic which I guess is not helping as well. His doctors had a look and said that it is expected adn that everything else looks fine, obviosuly he doesn't think so. He does not want to do any exercise as he doesn't have energy and pretty much sits in front the TV since treatment ended, so I'm sure his lack of exercise is a contributing factor. 

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on what I can do in order to help with his breathing situation?

Thanks

Vash

Vash,

          There are a few things that may be of help and as you mentioned, the lack of exercise is probably one of them. Sleeping while in a flat position may be another. The lack of fluids may be one part of his problems and the swelling yet one more part of the puzzle.

          Hopefully, this post won't be too long, but I'll give it a try.

1- He needs to get out of the chair and push himself to walk a little bit each day. The reason I say this is that fluids do build up around our necks from the treatments in the lymphnodes which in turn causes the swelling. One way to help lower the swelling is to walk and gravity takes over and the fluids drain down towards our feet. A gentle massage around the face and neck help promote the flow of the lymph system as well.

2- I was told by my Radiation Oncologist that we may have to deal with fatigue issues for up to a year. Nutrition can help with that. Gotta eat and exercise, even if it is only 10 minutes a day to start.

3- Sleep in a incline will help the fluids stay away from the neck area, which in turn causes less swelling. The swelling also causes issues with swallowing as the swelling isn't just on the outside, but may shrink our passage way in turn causing breathing stress.

4- I was told we need to take in roughly 64 ozs of fluid a day. If he drinks a bit more water daily, it may thin out the mucus a bit. I still deal with some nasal drip which causes me to have mucus issues, but not as bad as it was before.I may soon return to the Salt and Baking Soda solution that I used during treatment to see if that has any effect on the mucus. I seem to remember that it did help me.

     My Best to You Both and Everyone Here

Thanks Pop I will try those suggestions and see how it goes.