Reviewed: December 2006

Breathlessness (Dyspnea), or shortness of breath are terms often used inter-changeably, to describe a person's awareness of difficulty in breathing. Like pain, it is a sensation that can be judged only by the person experiencing it, therefore, it is important that you report any breathlessness to your care team.

You may experience breathlessness only with physical activity, and be comfortable at rest. Or you may be aware of the effort of breathing even at rest.  When this is the case, demands you may think of as work can make your breathing worse:

• Eating and digesting food after eating;
• Dealing with discomfort such as constipation, pain or a fever;
• Even laughing.

Simply anticipating some event can increase the work of breathing.

Breathlessness can be caused by a number of different types of cancer or can be caused by conditions associated with a cancer (i.e. distended abdomen, malnutrition).

The BC Cancer Agency maintains a database on commonly used complementary therapies available to cancer patients.  Please see Unconventional Therapies for more information.