Forum Discussion
Breast lymphoedema
a few questions that internet research hasn't answered for me, hopefully someone here can.
I obviously have some lymphoedema in my breast. It started after lumpectomy surgery, and has worsened since radiation (which finished 2 weeks ago). It is still only affecting one portion of my breast. The surgeon and bc nurse showed me how to gently stroke breast towards my neckline, which I do daily. The radiotherapy doctor and nurses said that as soon as the treatment finishes it will go away. It hasn't.
What next, dear friends?
I obviously have some lymphoedema in my breast. It started after lumpectomy surgery, and has worsened since radiation (which finished 2 weeks ago). It is still only affecting one portion of my breast. The surgeon and bc nurse showed me how to gently stroke breast towards my neckline, which I do daily. The radiotherapy doctor and nurses said that as soon as the treatment finishes it will go away. It hasn't.
What next, dear friends?
21 Replies
- I switched to an aah bra as I had breast lymphodema after mastectomy and reconstruction but only on the side of lymph node removal. It was really bad during chemo. I wore a compression tub thing to help provided by the lymphodema physio. Good movement. Nothibg too restrictive in bands. I found exercise in a warm pool helped a lot. I had laser after chemo finished. I didn't realise until then I had fullness under the armpit. Since the laser I rarely have issues unless travelling by car and not moving much. Kath x
- That might be an issue and probably a bit uncomfortable. The professor's name in the YouTube clip (part 2) is Neil Piller and he was the director of the Lymphoedema research Unit, School of Medicine at Flinders Uni. He has some great info about lymphoedema. There should be support groups around Australia. I hope this info is of some use. I was so upset when I got lymphoedema. I also lost 10 kilos and this helped me to get fit and put less strain on the lymphatic system. Can you tell I'm a teacher? LOL Way too much info from me! x
- The bottom band of the bra seems quite snugly, and I'm wondering if that would be an issue.
- Thank you. Hopeful.
- Cancer Australia have an online booklet 'Lymphoedema, what you need to know' which has a section on tips for managing it. I also saw a great Cancer Council YouTube clip about Lymphoedema by a professor and he talked about not having bra straps that were too tight. It had a lot of useful information. I'll see if I can find it.
- Great to hear you have an appointment booked. They book up really quickly, don't they?
Sorry, I don't know about it in the breast area. Maybe keep up the massage that they showed you at the hospital. I had massage down my arm, across my chest and under my arm. The lymphatic system is all connected so it couldn't hurt. There are lymphoedema organisations that could give you more info.
Exercise, like Pilates, is helpful with lymphoedema too. I'm sure some of the other ladies will have some more useful ideas. I hope everything settles down. My hand was so swollen after chemo and the area under my arm was so swollen after radiotherapy and they settled down in the months afterwards. I know it's really stressful to have this. x - What to do in the meantime?
- I would love to know more about how to mange it in the breast. I have an appointment in a month with the lymphoedema clinic.
- There is a lot of stuff out there about having it in your arm. Mine is only in the breast and am constantly being told it wont affect my arm because I didn't have those auxiliary nodes (?) removed.
