From the first moment my wife discovered
she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even
ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have
received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than
mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started
this blog…
Every month, I’ll be highlighting breast
cancer research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites,
journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and
share them with you. Today: http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/november-health-letter-highlights-from-the-november-2014-issue/
“One procedure is
a lymph-to-vein bypass surgery that involves connecting tiny lymph channels in
the affected limbs to tiny veins, so blocked up lymph fluids have an outlet to
flow into the circulatory system. These connections may be made in multiple
locations on the affected limbs during outpatient procedure.
“Another option is
lymph node transfer. It involves cutting a wedge of skin tissue containing
lymph nodes from one area of the body, often the groin, and transplanting into
the affected arm or leg. The transplanted lymph nodes are often able to clear
lymph fluid from the affected arm or leg, resulting in partial or full
reduction in limb swelling. The procedure requires several days in the
hospital.”
“A new approach to
treating lymphedema involves transplanting lymph nodes from elsewhere in the
body to replace those removed as part of treatment…pioneer a method for
selecting lymph nodes for transplant that could minimize this risk…Removing
lymph nodes that drain the trunk does not generally cause lymphedema.”
In our area both
VLNTx and LVA are being performed by at least one plastic surgeon. He notes
however, “Surgery is a treatment option for a very small, selected percentage
of the patients who have lymphedema…”
The next question
is then, would my wife be one of that small, selected percentage? How is it
paid for (ie: does health insurance recognize it as something important or as
something cosmetic, that is, “unimportant”)?
To clarify, I
should mention that there are TWO systems of fluid transfer in the Human body.
The first one we are intimately familiar with called the cardiovascular system –
that’s the one that’s connected to our heart and we see every time we cut a
finger or scrape a knee. It transfers blood from one part of the body to the
other, connects up with the lungs, and general keeps us from dropping dead in
sixty seconds!
The lymphatic
system is both hidden and for most of us, virtually undetectable. Our Medieval
ancestors however, became acutely aware of the lymph system during the Black
Death – the plague virus infects the lymphatic system and causes an horrific
swelling of the lymph nodes. The nodes were also called “buboes” and the other
name for the disease is the Bubonic Plague. Since then, we haven’t paid much
attention to it.
It is the nodes,
found at the joints – neck, armpits, hips, abdomen, and a few other places –
that are removed when there is a suspicion of breast cancer. The nodes, when
compressed by our movements, push the lymph from one place to another in the
body.
Damage to the
lymphatic system does NOT cause death in moments, rather the death from
diseases of the lymph nodes and system cause death in terms of months, years,
or even decades. The most significant disease to affect the lymphatic system –
which also carries white blood cells to injured or infected parts of the body –
was the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, more commonly known as HIV. This of
course led to the scourge of the 20th Century, Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS.
It is this
parallel system that, when the nodes are removed, causes the buildup of lymph
in the extremities. It causes lymphedema.
So there you have
it. There is now SOME hope for treating lymphedema; there is now hope for
patients whose doctors said, “Oh, don’t worry about injuring the arm we took
the lymph nodes from. It’ll be fine…”
It wasn’t fine,
and if I could, I would mention to that doctor exactly where he could PUT such
saccharine, ineffective, unintelligent, gobbledygook…
Resources: http://www.cancercenter.com/video/treatments-technology/vascularized-lymph-node-transfer/,
http://www.advancedreconstruction.com/breast-reconstruction/lymphedema/?gclid=CIr0mNawvs4CFQYOaQodgKYPEQ,
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