I have had PD for about 18 years now. Difficulty breathing is a major problem for me when my meds wore off. It could be caused by a couple things. If you suffer from dystonia from idiopathic PD, it could cause difficulty breathing.

Your symptoms sound as severe as mine, so I can't help but wonder if you could have a mutation in your Parkin gene which may cause a mitochondrial disease such as I have. See the following link for a clear idea of what mitochrondial disease entails. http://www.mdausa.org/publications/Quest/q64mito.html .

I found DBS surgery to be a lifesaving measure for me. It allowed me to cut way back on the amount of Sinemet I take as well as other drugs. I am not sure how the Canadian Healthcare System works, but you might consider talking to your physician about the possibility of sending a blood speciman to Allinia Diagnostics, which is the only American lab that will do a gene test for mitochondrial for commercial use. Participating in a research study is another possibility, but having the test results sent to you by a commercial diagnostic testing service puts the DNA information directly in your hands so you are able to research the more recent research which says what will or won't work for your particular mutation, should one exist. Research studies will not release any information to the patient.

I am so sorry to hear you have breast cancer to deal with as well as PD. There was another poster named Thelma who was also coping with cancer and PD. I haven't read any recent posts by her. She might be able to answer your question about cancer and DBS surgery.

Vicky