Time Period for developing lymphedema?

TerriD

***URGENT*** HI Ladies, I will be posting this issue on various threads, because I need a pretty quick response, so thanks you to anyone who can help/share:  This question is for my mom. BACKGROUND: She just finished radiation. Not sure how many treatments, I think it was for 5 weeks.  She was stage 1, and this is her second cancer episode, first time was 10 years ago (me, her and my youngest sister have all had breast cancer twice each, and each recurrence was 10 years later...)

OK QUESTION:  mom just called me her radiation dr told her she has cellulitis (last week) She has been on a sulfur oral antibiotic and has had no relief, hot-to-touch rash on rad site and tenderness.

Now I have had my own issues with cellulitis, I have had many episodes (over 40) and have only had it 2x with out a fever present.  so I wonder... I also had a lot more rads then she did, so could it be radiation burns??  That she has? 

I finished rads in 2009 and lost my skin etc, I did not end up with a hot to touch rash that was from radiation - that I am aware of, I did have hot-to-touch cellulitis issues (that started way b4 rads ever did) and was usually accompanied with a 103.5 fever.

Mom  has no fever.  The rad dr gave her an oral antibiotic a week ago and it is still hot-to-touch.

COULD THIS "JUST" be a radiation burn???  (I HATE to say "just", I know how hard it is...)

If not, I have to assume it is cellulitis, like the dr said, but I know how hard it is to dx this animal.

Mom is in FL I am in MI so I cant look at it, she says the "rash" is on her chest on the radiation site. In my case my rash went up my arm, and across the chest and back...hers is not spreading...so I wonder if this is just a rad side effect and NOT cellulitis???

The problem is she has heart issues and has also had c-diff in the past, so allowing a strep bacteria unattended is a real bad idea, and having IV antibiotics would be hard too (due to her

c-diff history). 

She is ready to go to the ER, either way I told her that this should not be treated by her rad dr, that she needs to see an infectious disease dr. 

Suggestions?  comments? 

Oh, and just in case can anyone recommend an Infectious disease dr in Ft Lauderdale area?  THANKS Terri

TerriD

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TerriD

I created a thread if you care to comment or follow thanks t

Could this be radiation burns or cellulitis???