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…That
was four years ago – as time passed, people searching for answers stumbled across
my blog and checked out what I had to say. The following entry first appeared in
June of 2014.
You know, it
probably seems like I’ve been harping on this whole subject of lymphedema WAY
too much.
In the whole SCOPE
of things, you might say, this is barely a blip! I mean the cancer is gone, the
breasts reconstructed, she looks natural, and we’re even planning on taking
part in a public event in which we, for the very first time, publicly acknowledge
that she had breast cancer.
We will be walking
in our local Relay For Life event. We’ve never done one before. Haven’t done
the Susan B. Komen Race For The Cure. Nothing like that. I am on a school
faculty team, my wife will be doing a Survivor’s Lap, we will be in front of my
students.
Lymphedema and all
and, according to her therapist – lymphedema FOREVER.
For those of you
who don’t know what lymphedema is: a swelling of body tissue “caused by a
blockage of the lymphatic system (vein-like tubes that run parallel to veins
and arteries but carry a clear liquid called ‘lymph’), which are part of the
immune and circulatory systems. The blockage prevents lymph fluid from draining
well, and as the fluid builds up, the swelling continues.”
Specifically as regards
breast cancer...hang on, let me point out something to you. GOOGLE breast
cancer lymphedema. After three ADS, a cluster of scholarly articles, you come
to the meat of the thing, which is a listing of places you can read about
lymphedema. My new problem is that few (if any) people talk about lymphedema as
a side-effect of mastectomies – in which not only is a breast or both breasts
removed – lymph nodes in the armpit are often removed as well
The first article
says: “a potential side effect of
breast cancer surgery and radiation therapy that can appear in some people” (emphasis mine)
The second
article: “Women who have been treated for breast cancer may be at risk for lymphedema in the arm, breast, and chest.”
(emphasis mine)
The third article:
“Lymphedema is one of the most common
side effects of breast cancer treatments.” (emphasis mine)
Finally in the
fourth article, we get: “It is common
after a mastectomy, lumpectomy or breast cancer surgery and radiation therapy”
(emphasis mine)
Do you see the
progression there? The first practically guarantees that there won’t be any
such thing as lymphedema; that it’s a “potential” problem. [So is water in my
basement because we live on reclaimed swampland. But after 20 years here, we’ve
never had it. To ME, that’s what a “potential” is.] My wife’s doctor assured
her that there was nothing wrong after she rammed her hand into the wall on
Thanksgiving Day two years ago. That was the day her arm began to swell as
white-blood-cell-laden lymph rushed to the scene to make sure there was no
infection after the injury. Once there however, the lymph had nowhere to go
because 21 of 40-some lymph nodes – which when compressed, move the lymph – had
been taken out during the mastectomy. So her arm swelled and the doctor continued
to tell her it was no problem.
The next two admit
that lymphedema is a problem, but only a “risk” or “one of the most common” [By
implication, there are other side-effects that are more pressing, so don’t
really worry about this one...] After she changed clinics, the therapist was
appalled and gave us a number of things we could do, including massage that
would push the lymph back to the remaining nodes so it could be redistributed.
This worked. Sort of. She also prescribed a compression sleeve (that stopped
about three inches short of the shoulder) and an oven-mitt kind of arm cover to
be worn at night. While things got better, the lymphedema remained obvious and,
for my wife, ugly. So things remained for about a year.
We continued to
hear that “lymphedema can be cured!” from my sister, who works in a wellness
center in a city far south of our home that is world-renowned for its medical
center. Kings and presidents have been treated there. The problem was that
regular treatment would involve a long, long drive, so my wife began to look
closer to home. After half a dozen “referrals”, she finally arrived at a place
where not only did people take lymphedema seriously, they also began an
IMMEDIATE and immediately effective regimen. The immediately prescribed a tight
set of wrappings alternating with heavy gauze, and prescribed a two-piece “body
armor” kind of device worn for four weeks. Within two months, the swelling was
down, they took measurements, and my wife now has a compression garment that
not only fits her hand and goes up and over the shoulder, it’s also hard to
see! It also came with a device that helps her get it onto her arm alone!
So we met the
people who believed that lymphedema “is common” after mastectomy, who treated
it aggressively, and who have in a comparatively short time, won. They were
also very clear that this is a FOREVER thing. Health insurance also recognizes
that it’s a forever thing because they will pay for TWO compression garments a
year. This new one has also helped treat some nagging lymphedema over the
breast implant. Once that went down, my daughter and wife discovered that:
““Blinkin’, fix your boobs! You look like a bleedin’ Picasso!”” (From the Mel
Brooks movie, “Robin Hood, Men In Tights”)
*sigh*. If it
isn’t one thing, it’s another...
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