Can You Help This Lady?

[Lee Lee]

I have a work friend who has cancer. It started in her trachea and now is in an adrenal gland.
She is still working, but she's been through chemo and all sorts of things. The cancer is gone from the trachea, but she is having a horrible time getting sleep,because, as she told me today, her airway keeps collapsing!
I asked her if she'd had a sleep study and she said no.
She thinks the problem is not OSA, but inflammation from the Chemo.
I am wondering if anyone knows if CPAP could be used in a situation like this?
I did tell her to ask her Doctor for a sleep study, and I was going to send her some information, but I don't want to mislead her.
Opinions?

[BarryKaraoke]

I have a work friend who has cancer. It started in her trachea and now is in an adrenal gland.
She is still working, but she's been through chemo and all sorts of things. The cancer is gone from the trachea, but she is having a horrible time getting sleep,because, as she told me today, her airway keeps collapsing!
I asked her if she'd had a sleep study and she said no.
She thinks the problem is not OSA, but inflammation from the Chemo.
I am wondering if anyone knows if CPAP could be used in a situation like this?
I did tell her to ask her Doctor for a sleep study, and I was going to send her some information, but I don't want to mislead her.
Opinions?

No matter what you call it, a collapsing airway is a collapsing airway and CPAP splints your airway open. I would definitely have her talk to her Doctor about a sleep study. It certainly wouldn't hurt.

[ozij]

No matter what you call it, a collapsing airway is a collapsing airway and CPAP splints your airway open. I would definitely have her talk to her Doctor about a sleep study. It certainly wouldn't hurt.

It's not that simple. A collapsing upper airway is not a collapsing trachea.

Inflammation can be exacerbated by the cpap air.

Chemo itself may disrupt people's sleep.

Your friend has to talk to her doc about all her sleep/breathing problems.

OSA is an upper airway collapse problem specifically caused by the state of being asleep. If your friend can't fall asleep because she cant' breathe, and had cancer of the trachea, she had better discuss this symptom with her doctor immediately.

It must be comforting to think this is just a side effect of the chemo. I hate to say it - but it may also be the symptom of further cancer in her airway or a cancerous lymph node pressing on her airway. She needs professional diagnosis ASAP, and then she needs help in breathing comfortably when she lies down.

I could be more comforting....
O.

[Guest]

where has she been treating? If at one of the local or DC hospitals then her dr may be able to just refer her to someone he/she knows. I had deviated septum surgery at Georgetown and I think the surgeon who did it is still there (I only mention and ENT because of the trachea/neck issue). I also saw a pulmonologist at Georgetown who wrote my scrip for the CPAP. If you need names of drs I saw, I think I still have them.

TM

[Snoredog]

I would think it depends on the type of treatment she had, I watched one medical report not too long ago in which a throat cancer patient had PDL laser treatments.

They used the laser to zap the blood supply that fed the cancer polyps and tumors, the result was the cancer cells died and went away, took 2 years of treatment but the patient was cancer free afterward.

They showed before and after shots of the esophagus, it was amazing and a huge difference.

While it looked good with the endoscopy monitor, they didn't mention anything about residual scar tissue which is what I would expect.

This is not the story I seen, but very similar:
http://www.wbur.org/news/2005/51253_20050831.asp

[Pineapple]

Lee Lee,

She definately needs to talk to her doctor ASAP. My sister's OSA escalated after her chemo treatments - the 2 may be connected,

When you're dealing with cancer, it's best to report everything to the doctor.

[Lee Lee]

I did absolutley tell her to talk to the Doctor. I would never attempt to give medical advice to someone with this serious condition.
I was just hoping for her sake that CPAP would be an option.
She says she can fall asleep but is awkakend gasping for air. And she says it doesnt happen every night, which sounds so much like OSA.
TM- she is getting treated here at Georgetown and also in Boston. She has excellent care, apparently.
Thanks, guys. (and gals)

[Guest]

She could also check out studies going on in Bethesda at NIH. They have both cancer and sleep research going on there. May be worthwhile asking both her doctors here at G'town and up in Boston (in addition to her own research). May be a shot in the dark, but you never know, maybe she will meet all the criteria for some new study using the next "miracle" drug or procedure, they really do some amazing stuff at NIH.

TM