Based on that video he has a good bit of effort while breathing . He does not appear to be in distress , however this will ultimately progress to distress . How long it will be before he is not able to get enough oxygen and becomes distressed is impossible to say . Breathing like this indicates that there is something inside of his chest preventing full inflation of his lungs , or something inside of his lungs doing the same . Even though he is not in respiratory distress yet , breathing with effort like his is rather uncomfortable . He is engaging his abdominal muscles in an effort to get enough air into his lungs . It ' s also pretty tiring to breathe like that . I would prepare yourself to be making your decision soon . Don ' t change the dose of prednisone without talking to someone at the oncologist ' s hospital . You can call them and describe his symptoms and see if a doctor there can make recommendations , but definitely do not change anything without their direction .