Fluid in lungs?

My father was diagnosed with squamos cell cancer. He has had approx.37 treatments of radiation. He has had 4 rounds of chemo. His last chemo was approximately a month ago. He now has 1/3 of his left lung filled with fluid. Could this be caused from the chemo and radiation. He was in the hospital for pnemonia during this process of chemo. They are going to drain his lung. What is the procedure for this. Thanks for your help.

There are many different reasons why fluid is collected into the lungs. It could be lung related, heart related, etc.

Pneumonia is a common cause of build up of fluid in the lungs. Your lungs are actually surrounded by a moist membrane which is called the pleura.

The Mayo Clinic provides an explanation of the processes that liquid is consumed into the lungs with pneumonia. White blood cells (leukocytes), a key part of your immune system, begin to attack the invading organisms. The accumulating pathogens, white cells and immune proteins cause the air sacs to become inflamed and filled with fluid, leading to the difficult breathing that characterizes many types of pneumonia. If both lungs are involved, it's called double pneumonia. With medical treatment, pneumonia is not fatal.

If the heart is affected, it may also be pulmonary edema which is fluid that accumulates in the lungs when the left ventricle of the heart doesn't pump accurately. This condition may be life threatening and is associated with heart failure, heart attack, etc.

There are several other diseases that cause fluid buildup in the lungs such as AIDS, lung cancer, nephrotic syndrome and chronic lung disease which is common in infants. There is also the possibility of exposure to chemicals that can cause fluid in the lungs.

How old is your neighbors daughter?
The Mayo Clinic provides a list of diseases that have symptoms of fluid in the lungs and that list can be found here http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/SEARCH/Search.

If you can find out more details of the condition, we can certainly get a better explanation for you. There are many conditions associated with fluid build up.