My sister has had severe cough, shortness of breath for three months which has not responded to three different antibiotics. She has also been on several rounds of prednisone and been using Symbicort daily per MD orders. Nothing has given her any relief. She had a bronchoscopy performed yesterday which noted inflammation. They took samples & she will get results in about 5 days. It was implied that it was asthma though she has not had a complete set of PFTs nor a methacholine test. This is a very conscientious adult who has eaten correctly, walked 4-6 miles daily, serious tennis player who never gets sick and yet has this recurring problem since the first of this year. She is a breast cancer survivor of 10+ yrs. We are both frustrated by the swift diagnosis of first COPD & now asthma with minimal testing by two different doctors. Her PCP is also not satisfied. Can asthma really been this persistent coming out of the blue?