Hi Meridith My husband too labors with his breathing and when he lays on his back it isworse I stay up half of the night nudging him so he will gulp for air it really scares me also but they don't seem concerned. He was just in the hospital for three days because he had got a bad fungus infection and bacterial infection at first they thought it was pnemonia. while he was in there I asked one of the nurses on the Cancer ward why he does that and she said she did not know but she has seen a lot of it with head and neck cancers. We prop him up and lay him on his side it helps some but still does it. If you find out a remedy for this I really would be interested. Guess its common. Bye Bobbie Jensen