Breast Cancer Treatment – Lymphedema

Lymphedema Management for Breast Cancer

As part of the breast cancer recovery process and to help you take care of yourself after surgery, your CTCA integrative medicine care team will include a member of our Oncology Rehabilitation Department. This team of physical therapists can help you build an individualized, lymphedema management program that combines gentle range-of-motion exercises, massage and education on techniques you can use in your day-to-day life to stimulate your lymphatic system and help prevent lymphedema.

In lymphedema, the removal of lymph nodes from the axilla (underarm) changes the way the lymph fluid flows within that side of the upper body, making it more difficult for fluid in the arm to circulate to other parts of the body. Not all patients are at risk for developing lymphedema during their breast cancer treatment, nor do all patients require this treatment for breast cancer recovery.

The Oncology Rehabilitation Department may employ one of the following techniques to either prevent lymphedema, or reduce the swelling associated with the condition:

• Lymph drainage therapy: Lymph drainage therapy is a specialized massage technique, designed to activate the pumping action of your lymphatic system. This pumping action reduces and, in some cases, prevents fluid build-up.
• Le duc manual lymph drainage: Le duc manual lymph drainage employs a combination of manual lymph drainage with multi-layer bandaging and a compression pump, to clear excess lymphatic fluids from your body by activating the pumping action of the lymphatic system.

Your CTCA doctors may be able to prevent lymphedema by performing a sentinel lymph node biopsy prior to your surgery. This simple procedure allows the surgeon to determine which lymph nodes need to be removed, and hopefully preserve remaining lymph nodes in the axilla.

Next Topic: Breast Cancer Treatment – Mastectomy

Breast Cancer