[Lavanda]

Cough after the flu and stem cell transplant

by Lavanda on Sun Mar 27, 2016 12:33 pm

Hello everyone,

I already wrote here about my mom. She was diagnosed almost 1 year ago and after 4 cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dexamethasone (CyBorD) induction cycles and autologous stem cell transplant, she achieved complete response (CR). Now she is receiving 4 more cycles of Velcade and dex due to high risk cytogenetics (t4;14). She just finished the 2nd cycle and will start with third one in 1 week.

She had a big flu like 10 days ago. She went twice to see doctors and they said it is nothing dangeorus, just to have a lot of warm tea. A few days ago she received Velcade and Dex.
The last three days she is coughing very much and she feels generally very weak. She doesn't have high fever at all, but she is sleeping all the time and complaining about the cough. The last time she checked with the doctor was 2 days ago and he said there is nothing on the lungs, just to have a rest.

Should we be worried?

Thanks a lot in advance!

[mrozdav]

Re: Cough after the flu and stem cell transplant

by mrozdav on Sun Mar 27, 2016 3:18 pm

Lavanda:

I am not sure that I can give you very concrete assistance here, but for what it is worth ... I am also t(4;14) and am currently on Velcade maintenance (only). I have begun to notice in the last two or three months that the day after an injection of Velcade, I develop a slight sniffle that makes me think that I am getting a head cold, but it disappears by the next day.

It is nothing serious (as of now), but I am very much on the alert because when I was taking Revlimid as part of induction, I developed a severe cough much like your mother's. I have extensively described what turned out to be an allergic reaction to Revlimid earlier in the forum (see, for example, the thread "Cough from Revlimid and/or dex?"). Like your mother, I had nothing on the lungs and my doctors were not concerned. I, however, was in a state of misery.

Is it possible that what your mother is experiencing is an allergic reaction to the Velcade which is bringing on the cough? I can sympathize with her wholeheartedly, having myself developed a terrible cough which took more than ten months to resolve, i.e., after numerous visits to various specialists and when I finally went off Revlimid.

[Lavanda]

Re: Cough after the flu and stem cell transplant

by Lavanda on Sun Mar 27, 2016 6:24 pm

Thanks mrozdav,

She is complaining that she has itchy reaction from Velcade shot, but I don't think the cough comes from the Velcade, as at the same time my mom got the flu, my father and little brother had it as well, and they are still coughing a bit. My mom is coughing the most, but I guess this is due to low immunity as a result of the stem cell transplant.

I read about pneumonia and saw that it can appear even without high fever, so I was actually con­cerned as she feels bad, that this could be the reason?

[mrozdav]

Re: Cough after the flu and stem cell transplant

by mrozdav on Sun Mar 27, 2016 8:15 pm

Lavanda,

Pneumonia was one of the first things my specialist checked for when I complained of cough. My cough was non-productive and the CT scans were clear. Accordingly, the diagnosis was no bronchitis and no pneumonia.

If you are concerned about pneumonia, you must discuss this with your mother's physician and seek a satisfactory resolution. In the unlikely case that s/he has not yet ordered a scan, perhaps one should be considered.

[Lavanda]

Re: Cough after the flu and stem cell transplant

by Lavanda on Mon Mar 28, 2016 3:04 am

Thanks mrozdav,

This was exactly my concern. They "checked" twice her lungs, but no scan was done, they only "listened to her breathing" (sorry for my bad English).

Thanks and good luck to you!