I hope there is someone within the ATS community that can help me. I am afraid I will have lung cancer. I smoked marijuana for 6 years (every day) and Cigarettes for 9 years (every day with a 2 year break) I have since quit. However I have this problem.

I cough up phlem every day but it's a strange sort of phlem. It always has the same shape. It's capsule shape and has a firm consistancy. It's about the size of a grain of rice or a little bigger. If I squish it between my fingers it retains its shape however if I press firmly I can destroy it and air bubbles pop out. The color ranges from sometimes clear to white to translucent grey. Sometimes there are threads of dark stuff in it (pollution or blood?)

I heard that people will usually cough stuff out in a lung cleaning process after quitting but I also have this other problem...shortness of breath. When falling asleep I hear a wheezing and it's difficult to inhale, infact I can't inhale a whole lungsfull of air.

I have had Xrays (albiet Chinese in a crappy facility) and have been told I don't have a problem....However I have the 2 listed above.

Can anyone help me get more info on this? Thank you

Zer0-0ps

[edit on 30-3-2005 by 00PS]

Coughing up mucus and dark muck is normal, after qitting, so is shortness of breath. smoking damages the tiny vessels of the lungs called alviola (*spell) which carriy oxygen into the blood stream. given time your lungs will recover.
btw ive been smoking both for over 20 years, i have shortness of breath and mucus with head colds but nothing too bad. xrays should show dark area on your lungs, this is dead cells that will be replaced and heal if you dont take it up again.
dont be too alarmed, you have already made a positive choice and taken a step toward healing. best wishes see a decent doctor.

here are some info links
www.ash.org.uk...

www.cancer.org...

www.quit.org.au...



[edit on 073131p://22037 by instar]

Emphysema is a chronic disease of the lungs which is characterized by parenchymal destruction distal to the terminal bronchioles. Smoking, air pollution, environmental or occupational hazards, and genetic factors may play a role in this disease. Symptoms of emphysema usually begin with breathing difficulty especially during exhalation, shortness of breath, an enlarged chest, and bluish skin color.



My breathing problem is in Inhaling and I don't have Blue Skin, I do have shortness of breath but not like I can't breath, just not inhaling at full capacity or so I believe. And my Chest isn't enlarged...but my wife says my Pecks are getting bigger

Seing a Chinese doctor isn't good, I can't get them to understand me and if I can how do I know they did and I won't understand them.

You should be more worried about pollution than cigarette smoke.

Especially living in China. I assume you're in an urban area?

You might have parasites in your lungs, but more likely, it's just normal cleansing, expectoration, clearing out all the tar from when you did smoke, and trying to get rid of whatever crap is in the air that you're breathing in.

Pretty much every human being on the planet develops cancer before they die. I wouldn't sweat it if I were you. The key is a good diet to prevent rapidly metastasizing cancers from overwhelming the body's defenses, especially minerals and vitamins. Very important! Also, make sure to breathe right, long periods of shallow breathing starve the body of oxygen. Take some lessons on how to bolster your Qi, maybe drink some Solomon's Seal wine (Solomon's Seal steeped in rice wine for several months) with a generous helping of bird's nest soup once a week for several months. You'll be right as rain.

I cough up a fair bit of phlegm myself, and I sometimes 'rattle' when I breathe, but the problem goes away when I concentrate on my deep breathing techniques, and though I am not capable of running a marathon, I find my reactions and agility are in no way affected. So, it's not that big a deal in my mind.

If you can still fight, you're fine.

How close are you to hong kong? I have a friend there that might see you. he is english...............

My wife wants me to go get medicine so I'll throw that question out there too. If there is any medicine out there that can help me please let me know but first I should find the problem..

If it would help I'll take phots of the phlem to show you (ewwwww :barf

WyrdeOne:

My wife is Chinese and grew up in China and she doesn't react to the pollution in the air like I do...Is it that I have virgin lungs coming from beautiful Washington State? Or I am not just healty. I always thought my body is really strong and that's why I'm coughing so much out because I'm cleaning. Wife thinks I'm weak and sick because I'm coughing so much and need to go to the hospital, medicine etc....


Dr.Horacid: What does your friend do? I am about a hundred dollar plane ticket away from HK so that's not to far really.

there's a company that has been pretty damned effective in trating lung cancer tumors in China (they have approved the drug there).

Company is Peregrine Pharmaceuticals.

Yes, being unaccustomed to the air makes you less tolerant of it. For the same reason you can't throw a fish from a pond into the sea.

Take my advice and you should feel much better.



I'm sure there is an herb merchant somewhere near your house who can procure some Solomon's Seal for you, and get the highest proof rice wine you can find. Use about a pound or two of Solomon's Seal (no more than two pounds), and soak for at least 3 months in a cool, dry place (in a closed jug or barrel). You may be able to just buy the wine infusion, I'm not sure. In the meantime, try the bird's nest. It works wonders for the lungs.

I KNOW you can find somewhere to buy bird's nest soup. Just make sure you get it at a nice restraunt, or make it at home, and don't be fooled by imitations. Get Golden Thread bird's nest, (it's a grade, not a brand name), soak for maybe 20-30 minutes in clean water - remove any debris on the surface, like feathers and what not. Rinse and strain, then simmer in a double boiler for about 3 hours (with more clean water). If you like sweets, make the soup with some brown sugar, if you like savory, add a little soy sauce and maybe some sliced, cooked chicked.

Rabbit with soy, wine, and ginger will also build vitality, cook in an earthenware pot for a couple of hours.

I also have a pain in the lower region of the lung on the left side towarsd the side of my body not inside...

Do you think I have a tumor

What about the wierd shape of the phlem? And Consistancy of the matter too?

he is an oncologist(sp) "cancer" specialist. I will try to call him today haven't talked to him is a while........

Thanks Doctor Horacid!!!

I appreciate all of your help. I really don't know how to explain myself to my wife. We have different cultural background and knowledge as well as education levels.

Coughing is bad in Chinese culture and society. It's the bleeding of the lungs.

I agree it's not good but I also thought its a process of the lungs cleaning itself


However combined with the breathing issue, phlem and pain that I left out of the original post as it's only been of recent (and hopefully only a straing from immense coughing as of lately) I hope it's nothing more than my body healing itself...however I am worried.

Being worried will make it worse.

If you're afraid, your fears will be made more manifest.

Trust me, I know a thing or two about the power of the mind.

Think positively, act with determination, cure yourself! Worry brings stress, and stress is poison for the systems and processes of the body.

As soon as I get my friend on the phone I will post something for you. Send me a U2U so I can give you a e-mail address or send me yours. God bless there dude.........

www.soupsong.com...

www.sunpowerusa.com...

Don't say I never gave you nothin'.



I wish you good health.

Soupsong didn't give a recipe

and the other link is broken...hmm maybe blocked..that'd be a first...


any news WyrdeOne?

If anybody else checks the link and finds it non-working I'll remove it...

It might be blocked, because it is probably duty free, and may not pass customs depending, I don't know what food import laws are like in China.

Anyway, I gave you a recipe earlier in this thread.. Look up a few posts.

It's really very simple. You soak the bird's nest, drain and remove debris, simmer in a double boiler with water and your choice of flavorings, for about 3 hours.

And enjoy. In spirit, you're dining with royalty.

I could search around and find you a couple of recipes, but you can do that on your own. The one with chicken and soy sauce is my personal choice. It's very hearty, and will fix your lungs by reducing coughing, and stimulating cell growth to replace damaged alveoli (sp?).

All set?

OOPS
Are you drinking enough fluids? Preferably water (good water).
Not being hydrated enough will make mucus thick and sticky.
Also fluids will help you cough up more of the junk quicker in order to clean
up the lungs. All that stuff in there is probably coming out from quitting smoking.

Good advice above.

Drink plenty of fluids, definitely.

And go easy on the Solomon's Seal, it's got quite a kick.

You're only supposed to drink it an ounce at a time, to prevent innebriation.

But I don't subscribe to that. I'm one of those rowdy, drunken monks.

OOPS:

I'm not sure if this would help, but if I had something like that (or any other lung based infection), I would get some colloidal silver (good quality and NOT powder based), put it in a nebulizer and inhale the colloidal mist into my lungs.

This will kill any pathogen/virus in your lungs.

It's great for anthrax too

Cheers

JS