What is Lymphedema?

Lymphedema is a condition of localized fluid retention caused by a compromised lymphatic system. It is most frequently seen after lymph node dissection, surgery and/or radiation therapy, in which damage to the lymphatic system is caused during the treatment of cancer, most notably breast cancer. 

Lymphedema has been barely recognized as being a serious health problem; however, this is slowly changing due to education and awareness. The danger with Lymphedema comes from the constant risk of developing an uncontrolled infection in the affected limb

 In women, it is most prevalent in the upper limbs after breast cancer surgery and lymph node dissection, occurring in the arm on the side of the body in which the surgery is performed.

According to a recent article online hospitals in about a dozen states are testing whether some simple steps, such as arm-strengthening exercises, could reduce the risk of one of breast cancer’s troubling legacies — the painful and sometimes severe arm swelling lymphedema.  Read more here….