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What Causes Breathing Difficulty And Vomiting Up Of Green Bile In A Smoker?
Question: Hi, my mother has been smoking for 52 years. She has recently become extremely weak , and she does not have any appetite at all. She can only walk about 3 feet before getting out of breath and having to rest. She is 82 years old. She just vomited green bile. We went to her internist, and he thinks it is lung cancer. She is losing her voice like a person with bronchitis does. She took a chest x ray in September
and nothing was found. She has lost about 20 pounds. She does have COPD. Another test found some small gallstones or kidney stones. Do you think she has lung cancer? He has ordered another chest x ray.
and nothing was found. She has lost about 20 pounds. She does have COPD. Another test found some small gallstones or kidney stones. Do you think she has lung cancer? He has ordered another chest x ray.
Brief Answer:
Lung cancer is possible
Detailed Answer:
Hi, thank you for using Healthcare Magic. Unfortunately, given your mother's history, lung cancer is a strong possibility. Severe COPD, especially emphysema, could cause similar symptoms. If a repeat chest xray doesn't show anything, I would suggest getting a CT scan of her lungs. This could show up cancer before you can see it on a chest xray. It would also be a good idea to see how well her heart is functioning. Heart failure and other heart problems could also cause severe shortness of breath and weakness. The weight loss of 20 lbs is very concerning and suggests that some kind of serious problem is going on.
Has she had bloodwork to look for anemia and other problems? These results could lead to a specific diagnosis. At this point, I would be doing a work up for the possibility of cancer, other lung diseases, and heart disease. She could have a cancer that is not necessarily in the lungs and the breathing difficulty could be from her COPD and possibly anemia.
There are many potential diagnoses. Lung cancer is one of them. A thorough work up needs to be done to figure out the cause of her symptoms and get her started on the right treatment.
Hope this answers your query. If you have further questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Lung cancer is possible
Detailed Answer:
Hi, thank you for using Healthcare Magic. Unfortunately, given your mother's history, lung cancer is a strong possibility. Severe COPD, especially emphysema, could cause similar symptoms. If a repeat chest xray doesn't show anything, I would suggest getting a CT scan of her lungs. This could show up cancer before you can see it on a chest xray. It would also be a good idea to see how well her heart is functioning. Heart failure and other heart problems could also cause severe shortness of breath and weakness. The weight loss of 20 lbs is very concerning and suggests that some kind of serious problem is going on.
Has she had bloodwork to look for anemia and other problems? These results could lead to a specific diagnosis. At this point, I would be doing a work up for the possibility of cancer, other lung diseases, and heart disease. She could have a cancer that is not necessarily in the lungs and the breathing difficulty could be from her COPD and possibly anemia.
There are many potential diagnoses. Lung cancer is one of them. A thorough work up needs to be done to figure out the cause of her symptoms and get her started on the right treatment.
Hope this answers your query. If you have further questions, I would be happy to answer them.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Answered by
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