<s>[INST] My boyfriend just finished radiation for tonsil cancer and he has excess phylem. Every time he eats a little something he can t stop spitting/coughing up phylem. He has been having chicken brith with noodles & scrambled eggs. Tried protein shakes because he lost 20 pounds but those gave him even more phylem. Can you suggest anything? [/INST] Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. In my opinion you should first consult pulmonologist and get done chest x-ray and CT THORAX (if needed) to rule out lung infection and radiation pneumonitis. Radiotherapy makes person immunosuppressive, so chances of lung infection (pneumonia) are very high. So chest x-ray is needed. Another possibility for your cough is radiation pneumonitis. It is not infection, but inflammation produced in lung parenchymal by radiation. So tissue edema develops and this causes coughing. CT THORAX is needed for diagnosis. And steroids are the only treatment for this. So better to consult pulmonologist and discuss all these. </s>