Hi Bridget,

I was Stage IIB with a large mediastinal mass when I was diagnosed. I went through 4 cycles of ABVD and then a month of daily radiation also. They radiated 20% of my lungs and areas of my heart, neck and chest so I too have to be careful in the future. I was warned about lung damage more because of radiation than Bleomycin, but I've heard they both can do a number to ya. I haven't really had too many problems except when exercising. I have noticed I do get a pretty persistent cough when I'm running or biking hard and when that happens to me, I just try and take it down a notch.

My doctor also told me I could develop pneumonitis after having radiation to my lungs and those symptoms would be a persisten cough, fever, or night sweats. He told me if that happened, they would treat me with steroids. I'm no doctor, but I just wanted to to throw the possibility of pneumonitis out there!

Isn't it funny how treatment can cause almost more side effects than the disease caused?

I hope your scan goes well, and everything clears up!

Best,

Victoria

I have the same issue with the crackling sound in my lungs and have now developed a slight cough, but my doctor insist that it will clear up overtime.  She said that its a side effect of the Bleomycin and should not be a cause for worry.  From my last PET there was some cloudy areas showing in my lung that resembled pneumonia, but I had none of the symptoms at that time except for the crackling sound.  Let me what your lung specialist says, so I know how hard to press the issue.