How do I know why I am coughing or whether I need to do something about it?

Coughing is the result of many things going on in the lungs and breathing tubes. It is a common symptom of pleural mesothelioma. The tumor can be causing the cough, or a build-up of fluid in the pleural space can cause a cough.

If after treatment your cough seems to get better, and then worsens, you need to let your doctor know. There may be a new reason. Perhaps fluid has re-accumulated in the pleural space.

If you already had emphysema, or asthma, or any other lung conditions before the mesothelioma, you can be coughing because of the pre-existing condition. You still need the treatment you had before. In fact, you may need more treatment and different treatment because of the mesothelioma.

You can actually cough after radiation therapy because of what the radiation can do to normal lung tissue. It is called radiation pneumonitis.

You can also catch a respiratory illness and be coughing because of that. Since your immune system is weakened as a result of the cancer and chemotherapy, you have to contact your doctor if you feel sick and start running a fever. It would be much easier to you get very sick with pneumonia or other illnesses, so you must be evaluated and treated.

Coughing in and of itself is not necessarily not dangerous, but in your case, any change should be reported to your doctor immediately.