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://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/advanced-compression-device-helps-le
First of all, of
course, “THE HECK is cellulitis?”
According to Mayo
Clinic Online, “Cellulitis (sel-u-LIE-tis) is a common, potentially
serious bacterial skin infection. Cellulitis appears as a swollen, red area of
skin that feels hot and tender. Left untreated, the spreading infection can
rapidly turn life-threatening.”
My wife has
never experienced cellulitis, and as it appears most often to occur in the
legs, that’s not a big concern. The study listed below however, notes that it
decreases the incidence of cellulitis in women who have experienced breast
cancer; and one of the aspect of breast cancer treatment is the removal of
lymph nodes that precipitate lymphedema, so that loss increases the chance that
one of the infective agents of cellulitis (there are several) might take hold.
“A small study has found that an advanced pneumatic compression device used
at home reduced cellulitis episodes by nearly 80% in people with lymphedema and
lowered their healthcare costs related to lymphedema.”
How common is
cellulitis in women who have been treated for breast cancer? I can’t say
because I couldn’t find any statistics. We know that lymphedema itself is hard
to track: “There is no consistency in the data on the incidence and
prevalence of lymphedema after breast cancer, probably because of differences
in diagnosis, the different characteristics of the patients studied, and
inadequate follow-up to capture delayed development of the disorder. The
overall incidence of arm lymphedema can range from 8% to 56% at 2 years post-surgery.”
One study I saw
notes that cellulitis occurs in one to eight percent of surgical patients, but
that’s not a big help regarding breast cancer, lymphedema, and cellulitis.
My question then
is, “If this device decreases the incidence of cellulitis, why wouldn’t you use
it to reduce lymphedema in ALL cases?”
Makes you
wonder, doesn’t it...
Resources:
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/lymphedema/infection;
http://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/advanced-compression-device-helps-le;
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cellulitis/basics/definition/con-20023471;
http://www.nhs.uk/ipgmedia/national/Lymphoedema%20Support%20Network/Assets/ManagingcellulitisinlymphoedemaLSN10pages.pdf;
http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/lymphedema/lymphedema-hp-pdq;
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