Lymphedema post Mastectomy: what’s going on here?

Mastectomy has come a long way over the last few decades and if you any reason either you or a loved one has gone thru it you will know how important it is to learn as much as you can about current treatment as well as after care. So many of my mastectomy clients state that they have learned “more than they ever knew” about their bodies and how they work.

Currently mastectomys aim at taking as little of the breast tissue as possible. If needed, your surgeon will remove lymph nodes in the area as well, as sometimes some of the cancer cells have taken up living space in the local nodes.

Now here is where we come to the the involvement of the lymphatic system at large. Any disturbance to lymph nodes can result in an overwhelm to the lymphatic system. A typical lymphatic system has the ability to move any fluid in the tissues functionally.

This will show up as swelling, or edema in the affected area or limb on the effected side