Welcome to the Lymph Therapist world

I guess it’s only fair if I begin this blogging journey by dedicating this very first entry to the reason why I started The Lymph Therapist in the first place. I have been a certified lymphedema therapist since 2013, and have met many people along my therapy career who have struggled with lymphedema. For those of you who are not familiar with lymphedema - lymphedema is a condition where one can have chronic swelling in their body parts (arms, legs, abdominal, breast, genital, head/neck, etc.) because of a disruption in their lymphatic system. In the western world, lymphedema often occurred after cancer treatment. Let’s say Jane Doe has a stage 3 breast cancer where her cancer has spread to her lymph nodes. She then had to have mastectomy, lymph nodes removal, radiation and possibly chemotherapy. Her lymphatic system will then be compromised to where she may develop chronic swelling in her affected arm and chest.

You may have seen the beige sleeve or even tattoo-pattern one that women wear in breast cancer awareness walk. Most of them don’t wear those sleeves for a fashion statement. It actually represents a major life change that they have to adopt to manage their conditions. I wish it’s just as simple as putting the sleeve on and everything will be fine and dandy. But no - it’s not that easy. The sleeve that they have to wear becomes the silent reminder that cancer has changed the course of their life. My patients often said - “I was ready to put cancer behind me, but then the swelling came”. Not only the swelling may cause their clothes to not fit properly, often it becomes a signal for disability. My clients often told me that people would stop them in the grocery store to ask them about their arm. I mean I can write another blog just one this - how a lot of my clients who had breast cancer often did not wish to share their journey with the people around them (especially at work) - because they did not want to be deemed incompetent at their job, to be considered ill, etc.

The sleeves also can be quite tight to put on - after all it has to have compression to work. It can get really hot - especially where I live in Texas. It may interfere with the way someone is used to dress themselves, the way their clothing fit, and the most difficult of them all - it’s not that easy to fit. The sleeves are also not cheap - ranging between $70-$500 depending on what type of garment they have - they’re not always covered by health insurance.

The funny thing is - I wrote the first draft of this blog in 2020. Little did I know - in November of 2020, I found a lump in my left breast - that turned out to be positive for cancer. Fast forward to now, Jan 11, 2023 - I just had a mastectomy with 5 nodes removed and started adopting some of the risk reduction practices for lymphedema including manual lymphatic drainage and using compression garment for high risk activities. I will continue to share my journey through this blog of course =)

So my goal in this journey is to raise awareness about lymphedema and the lymphatic system. I often thought to myself - I wish I could’ve met the younger version of this person in front of me - because it’s so much easier to prevent then to cure (in fact, there is no cure for lymphedema yet). This is why I’m writing this blog and starting this website. I’m hoping that by sharing what I know about the lymphatics and lymphedema, I can perhaps reduce the rate of lymphedema occurrence and severity, and decrease also the impact of this chronic health conditions. I know - big goals - bringing awareness about something that most people have no idea about and may not care about. However, if you see what I see daily, perhaps you’ll be in agreement with me.