I’m Trisha Perry, and I’m 74 years old. I had breast cancer in 1988

I had a lumpectomy, and then radiation afterwards.

I was taken into hospital at the end of March last year

and amongst the things that was diagnosed was pulmonary fibrosis

and breathing problems related

to complications arising from the treatment

that I had in 1988.

It was starting to really affect me

and I started becoming a little bit panicky

and I probably made it worse because I was panicking

because I was stressed. Then my very nice respiratory nurse at my health centre

suggested that she referred me to the breathlessness intervention service (BIS).

We work with patients who are experiencing breathlessness

and also work with their families as well.

People can experience breathlessness for a number of reasons.

It may well be because of where the cancer is itself

it may well be because of a complication of the treatment also.

Sometimes when people have certain cancers or when they have certain treatments

they become less able to do activities

or the things that they want to do so it might result in them becoming less fit

so they’re less able to do the things they want to do

and it becomes more effort and that cycle can often contribute

to people feeling breathless as well.

I had to learn to pace, I had to learn fatigue management

I had to learn all sorts of things that were completely new to me.

It’s quite a steep learning curve to learn to do these things differently

when I never thought for one second you had to learn how to breathe.

Breathlessness is controlled, to a certain degree, by our brains

so it’s not just about what goes on within our lungs.

Whilst we may not be able to change the physical causes of breathlessness

the things that we can change are the ways that we think and feel

and behave towards our breathlessness.

So there are some ways that people can help to manage their breathing

in a more controlled way.

What I normally do is, whilst I’m showering in the morning

make a mental list of the things I want to attempt during the day

and the way in which I’m going to try and do them

so I know that certain jobs that are going to be beyond me in one go

I can get halfway through them and stop and do something else

or stop and practice my breathing and then finish the job off.

It depends on the job, every job is different and everyday is different.

Often people who experience breathlessness feel that there’s not a lot that can be done

or that they have to get on with it.

There are a number of things that can be helpful for people experiencing breathlessness.

The breathing control method I’m about to demonstrate helps you breathe

efficiently from your tummy with your upper chest and shoulders relaxed.

First find a comfortable chair, perhaps where you’ve got pillows

that you can rest under your arms and that your head can be relaxed and supported.

Make sure your shoulders and upper chest are relaxed

and that you won’t be disturbed.

Place one hand on your tummy, just above you bellybutton

and just feel the breathing movement there.

As you breathe in your tummy should rise

and as you breathe out your tummy should fall.

Don’t take deep breaths, just take in the air that you need.

Breathing in this way often does not come naturally

it takes a bit of practice before you can get it right.

So it’s important to try and practice this breathing method when you’re relaxed and not breathless

so then you can master the technique and use it when you are breathless.

In a similar way, we would recommend that someone would use a small handheld fan

just so that they could hold it so far away from their face

and get a cool draft of air across the face and that can often be effective

in helping people to manage their breathing.

You just switch it on [handheld fan] and just gently move forward and blow into it

and then inhale and it’s just as easy as that.

Often people who experience breathlessness feel that there’s not a lot that can be done

or that they have to get on with it.

There are a number of things that can be helpful for people experiencing breathlessness.

It’s important that they contact their GP

and mention that they’re feeling breathless or to their healthcare professional

and see if there’s any breathlessness services in their area

look up any resources that can be helpful

the Macmillan Relax and breathe CD is really useful for helping with breathing control

and also with relaxation

and also seeing if there are any support groups locally that can help people who feel breathless.

Breathlessness, in itself, is not harmful.

It’s hard to deal with sometimes, mentally and physically but it’s not harmful

and once you’ve learnt to overcome mentally, that little bit of the problem

then you can cope with it much better

and it becomes easier to cope with.

I feel a lot healthier than I’ve felt in the last two or three years

because of all the things I’ve learnt.

For information, help, or if you just want to chat

call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00

or visit macmillan.org.uk