After our last
visit to the lymphedema clinic and the response of the staff there when my wife
asked about a cure, I will now be focusing the “BC Research Right Now!” entries
on the subject of lymphedema treatment.
This first entry
is NOT something that the clinic we go to has ever offered, and it may be
something I suggest we ask for.
It’s called Low
Level Laser Therapy or LLLT. Below you’ll find the description of a recent
study using it:
“Low level laser
therapy (LLLT) (wave lengths 650-1000 nm) is a…therapeutic intervention for
treatment of arm lymphedema. [It] can be administered by individuals trained in
the use of the device…[and] is believed to stimulate lymphatic movement and
lymphangiogenesis (‘the formation of lymphatic vessels from pre-existing
lymphatic vessels’, IOW, ‘growing new lymph vessels’); [increase] macrophage
activity, and soften fibrotic tissues; improve contractility in the tissues
that assist with lymph transport through the lymphatic vessels. These
mechanisms increase movement of pooled fluid from the extracellular spaces into
the lymphatic system for transport.
“Studies have
evaluated the influence of LLLT on lymphedema in breast cancer survivors with
mixed results regarding amount of volume reduction and degree of symptom
relief...None of these studies reported complications. Although the number of
sessions and exposure time to the laser varied across studies, overall results
are supportive of the procedure as a lymphedema treatment and demonstrate the
feasibility of conducting studies in breast cancer survivors with lymphedema.
“LLLT offers APNs
trained in the use of the device an opportunity to directly provide treatment
for their patients with lymphedema. Demonstrated successful use [and] could
impact current standards of care and treatment delivery by offering
alternatives to current treatment, earlier intervention, and increasing access
to a pool of providers.
“Based upon the
physiological mechanisms of action ascribed to LLLT, the authors of this
article theorized that it should reduce lymphatic-associated swelling. The
purpose of the pilot study was to examine the impact of [the treatment], as
both a stand-alone and complementary treatment for arm volume, symptoms, and
Quality of Life in breast cancer survivors with treatment-related lymphedema
and to use data obtained in this study to power future studies.”
The hospital we go
to has a cancer center with a strong breast cancer component and they are the
place where we discovered massage therapy for the reduction of arm volume –
what’s known as “manual lymphatic drainage” and includes both home-massage and
wearing a compression garment on the arm.
The results of the study, while not phenomenal
or “world-shaking” do, in fact point to the use of LLLT as an adjunct to
typical massage and compression treatments: “a 20 minute dose of LLLT when
followed immediately by compression bandaging is potentially as effective in
reduction of arm volume as 40 minute sessions of MLD or combined MLD and LLLT
followed by compression bandaging . This preliminary finding is noteworthy, as
the shorter duration of each LLLT session is less burdensome to patients and
less time consuming for therapists.”
Less time wasted –
that’s an improvement. We’ll have to see if the clinic we go to offers this
treatment!
[Note: Shortly
after I wrote this, our clinic visits ended. Now we only have yearly check ups;
lymphedema is treated as it always has been: compression.]
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