Manual lymphatic drainage is a central tenant of Complex (Combined) Decongestive Therapy, the standard treatment for the chronic swelling condition known as lymphedema. While the benefits of manual lymphatic drainage are well recognized for cases of longstanding lymphedema, does it provide enough benefit for early cases to warrant the added…
Appropriate exercise can reduce the side effects of breast cancer therapy while improving long-term survival. Current medical opinion unanimously supports the use of exercise in breast cancer prevention (see post: “Exercise for breast cancer prevention“) and in breast cancer rehabilitation (see post: “Exercise for breast cancer rehabilitation“). Indeed, the available…
Exercise not only relieves the side effects of breast cancer, but can also significantly improve long-term survival. It is well known that exercise can help prevent cancer (see blog post “Exercise for breast cancer prevention”), but its powerful effects on cancer recovery remain mostly unappreciated. Just a couple decades ago…
How can I use exercise to help prevent breast cancer, and how much will it decrease my risk? It is well appreciated that exercise can help prevent or delay an enormous range of health problems from cardiovascular disease, to neurodegenerative disease, to cancer. In fact it would appear that all…
Always on the look-out for new approaches to treating lymphedema, we took a close look at a new study that examines the use of acupuncture for treating the condition. The study in question (Cassileth B.R., Van Zee K.J., et al. Acupuncture in the treatment of upper-limb lymphedema: Results of a…
It was once widely believed that patients with lymphedema should avoid resistance exercise for fear of aggravating the symptoms of their chronic swelling condition. This misconception has been widely debunked. In fact, specially designed exercise therapy programs are actually beneficial for managing lymphedema as well as other side effects of…
New research adds genetic differences to the list of demographic and clinical factors that predict your risk of lymphedema following breast cancer treatment. The chance of developing chronic lymphatic swelling following treatment for breast cancer is commonly reported as 30-40%. While predisposing factors have been identified, it is still not…
UPDATE: The below article is interesting, and still mostly valid, but for the most up to date information on laser and lymphedema please see our 2018 review: Lymphedema Laser Therapy Inches Closer to Clinical Utility. Low level laser therapy is sometimes marketed as a miracle cure. It’s currently used by…
There are two major factors that determine how well a patient will respond to lymphedema treatment: the type and frequency of treatment, and patient compliance. But let’s assume that you are receiving an appropriate course of therapy, and that you’re also compliant with your therapist’s instructions regarding bandaging, self-massage, and…
When it comes to the various side-effects of cancer therapy, Axillary Web Syndrome is probably less well known, and less understood than even lymphedema. Occasionally called “cording lymphedema”, “syndrome of the axillary cords”, “syndrome of axillary adhesion”, or a variant of “Mondor’s disease”, Axillary Web Syndrome is a surprisingly common…
