What Are Embolism Warning Signs for Patients With Cancer?

There are a number of pulmonary embolism warning signs patients with cancer and their caregivers should watch for, as one expert explained in a recent conversation with CURE.

The risk of embolisms among patients with cancer was recently brought into the spotlight with the Jan. 30 death of “Schitt’s Creek” and “Home Alone” actress Catherine O’Hara at the age of 71. The Associated Press reported on Feb. 9 that O’Hara died from a pulmonary embolism, with cancer as the underlying cause.

According to the report, O’Hara’s death certificate listed pulmonary embolism — which is when a blood clot blocks an artery in the lungs — as the immediate cause of her death, with rectal cancer as the long-term cause. The Associated Press reported that her death certificate indicated that O’Hara had been treated by an oncologist since March of 2025.

To shed light on this issue, CURE spoke with Dr. Ryan Moore, who is a colorectal surgeon at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, about the warning signs of embolism risk that patients with cancer and their caregivers should be aware of.

Transcript

What are some warning signs or “red flags” for embolism risk that patients with cancer and their caregivers should watch out for?

It definitely can be hidden and scary. Certainly, difficulty breathing. Shortness of breath that is out of the ordinary, not being able to catch your breath, taking kind of frequent, shallow breaths can be a bad sign, or a later-stage sign. Increased heart rate is one thing that always concerns us, because the clots in the lungs can really put a lot of pressure on the heart to function a little bit harder, and can then lead to tachycardia, or increased heart rate, which can be one of the first signs of a pulmonary embolism.

Reference

1. “Catherine O’Hara died from a pulmonary embolism. Cancer was the underlying cause,” Associated Press; https://apnews.com/article/catherine-ohara-cause-of-death-17124e0b91c258a88b9acce6c7dd8f54

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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