Things I have tried this week that made my lymphedema worse
I am sure trying to get this beginning of lymphedema under control but I have certainly taken some back stepping in the process. First of all I finally got in last Thursday to see a certified lymphedema specialist. I was leery after the first 15 minutes with her because she said I did not appear to have lymphedema without an exam. She said because I had only one lymph node removed and no radiation (she said "just" a double mastectomy like it was a skin tag that was removed) that I could not possibly have lymphedema. After I asked her, she did feel my left arm (through my sweater) and said she could feel swelling in the back of the arm, but it was probably surgery related. No, I don't think so after six months. Well, I gave her one more try this morning and I walked out of there barely able to breathe. She did about five minutes of what she called manual lymph drainage and I thought she was going to break a rib. I asked her if she should be pushing that hard because I had read it should be much lighter and she said nothing short of vigorous rubbing would move the lymph. I called the main office when I got home and transferred to a different therapist. I actually have a severe headache and increased swelling from the P.T. session.
Also, this weekend I felt I needed to get out of the house, so much cabin fever in this weather, so I drove over to Dick's Sporting Goods store and tried on a men's Under Armor Compression T-shirt. I first tried on a medium and it was too large, so I tried to wriggle myself into the small. Oh my gosh, this was miserable. I was half-way into the shirt and I got a little stuck. I had my lymphedema arm in but could not get it to go over my other arm. It was way too tight so I had to really contort to get it back off. I did more harm than good to my arm by the time I got it back off. I don't know what I did wrong. I am 5'8" tall and about 135 pounds so the medium was way to big but the small seemed to be three sizes down instead of one. I compared that shirt to a few of the other colors and the sizing seemed to be the same.
I was so sore by Saturday night so I got creative and pulled out a rather large Ace bandage that I had used after surgery to wrap my chest area. It felt good to have it back on and it started calming the pain in my trunk area within an hour. Unfortunately, it also causes me to get severe acid reflux so I can not wear it when I eat or for several hours afterward.
I was really discouraged earlier this morning, but the sun is out and I had the good sense to change physical therapists so I guess I am doing some things right. What do your guys do to calm down the pain from chest lymphedema once it is really flared? Thanks for listening, this heavy arm and achey pain makes me feel isolated because I don't feel like driving when it hurts like this.
Comments
-
coffee latte oh Im really sorry youre going through this! Thats horrible. Im not sure what to do about truncal, and Im really hoping some ladies chime in real soon. Im from NZ so I cant comment on your health system over in US. The ladies here say there is a recommended list of LEists you can get for your area, and it certainly sounds like you need to find someone else. I cant believe what shes done to you!
Gentle Hugs. -
Thanks Musical. I think I just had a bad go of things for a bit. I still have a headache, but other than that I think I am ok. The therapist meant well, it was just far too vigorous. I thought she might break a rib if she kept going. It was way too much pressure on the mastectomy scars, that is for sure. I came home and ate a piece of cake, that seemed to help! Too funny.
-
coffeelatte, I'm so sorry! Unfortunately you're sure not alone in needing to find a second (or even a third, or…) therapist. I'm just so glad you knew that treatment was wrong and could act quickly to change it up.
Short of an appropriately-sized sport shirt which you sure didn't find (!!!), you might find some relief with a shaper cami, if it comes up high enough under the arms. Or you could try a breast binder like the Expand-a-band (be sure to order the lined one--much more comfortable):
http://www.breastbinders.com/Store/catalog/Traditi…Keep us posted! Hugs and chocolate,
Binney -
Binney your link isnt working for me but I pasted into search engine and came up with
hxxp://www.eabmedical.com/
Is that the one...Note Ive put xx in the http to make link dead.
Coffee, lets hope you get something sorted really soon. LOL Im swearing off cake and sweets but glad you enjoyed yours!
-
Thanks, Musical, yes, the breast binder is in the top row on the left on that page. Kinda pretty, no?
Hugs,
Binney -
That lovely blue one?. Gosh these look interesting. I think these would be a great idea. From time to time I do get achy truncal patches down the side, both on the mast side and prophy side, the latter which had a hematoma and is still more puffy than BC side. Go figure. I think theres some really great stuff out there.
-
coffee, I had my first MLD just yesterday (I've had lumpectomy), and my impression too was that it was too strong. I asked the therapist, supposedly an expert in LE, and she told me the first session is always the worst, because the tissue is still hard. The operated side of the breast is still tender and a bit swollen, as well as the armpit and under it and other points on my arm . I even asked her if I should put something before next session, like an anesthetic cream or something, but she promised it wouldn't be that bad from now on. She told me to drink as much water as I can throughout the day to help the tissue return to normal faster. I only have minor swelling so far, which subtly started after an accident 3 months out of surgery (same side as lumpectomy, result was ruptured tendon-OUCH!-talking about things that make LE worse...), but seems to have settled for good the last few months. She was the first health care professional I've seen in the past 14 months since surgery that acknowledged that 13 dissected nodes is not a small number and the persistent swelling could be LE and I should try to control it now rather than later. She measured my arms in 8 points and had me put my arms in 3 different positions to observe them.
After the MLD she put me on a pressure machine, putting BOTH my arms in huge gloves-like things, up to the shoulder. That was great and after 25 minutes (I napped through it) I could really tell the difference. Why don't you give it a try?
IMO you did well to change therapists, since the first one kind of sucked and keep looking till you find someone you makes you feel good and confident (as you noticed, it's the first time I met with a professional so many months out!). I think we should try and do whatever makes us feel better, while trying to control LE and learning to live with it (and hoping to eventually live without it). You have all my respect for going through a double mastectomy, please don't be discouraged, it will get better.
-
Well I do feel better today compared to yesterday. I woke up at two this morning with a really tight and swollen hand, so I got a bed pillow and propped it as I lay on my side and it did seem to help.
Binney - I thank you and Musical for the links to the breast binder. I did manage to get it to work so I could view it and I think I will order one this afternoon. Looks doable for an uncoordinated gal like me.
Lia13 - I am so glad you had a good session with your LE therapist. She did something that I like and that is take measurements of your arm. I like how she explained to you what to expect on the next visit and advised you to drink water. The LE therapist I saw asked me to roll over on my stomach so she could feel my back. I did so and she pushed a little, announced my thoracic spine was tight and started pushing down really hard on both sides of my spine with her weight in the palms of her hands. It crunched my neck into the pillow, hurt the mastectomy scars and made my spine go pop, pop, pop. She told me she was not adjusting my spine, but that it was just air making all those loud cracks. I felt like I had just been to a chiropractor for a very strenuous adjustment. Not good. I am paying out of pocket because we have a high deductable so it sure bugs me on top of everything else to have to pay for a treatment that was hurtful.
Oh well, I must let it go and focus on better days. That is why this board is so helpful. The ladies (and men) here understand the strain of a cancer diagnosis and all the emotional and physical effort it takes to get to be the best you can be after the treatments. I have had some things that did not work out this past week (also can't wear my new mastectomy bras that came in yesterday because they do cause more swelling in the trunk) so I have to chalk it up to lessons learned and move on. OUT with the bras, in with finding some camis and a breast binder!
-
Great thread. Coffee Im sorry your mast. bras arn't working out. It really is just a lot of guesswork sometimes in finding out what is right for us. All our bodies react differently to different things and this often makes it a shot in the dark and its not too funny when we have to shell out on maybe's. I too have success with the pillow at night. It definitely helps.
At that link I saw near the bottom (I think), some beige compression bras. Are they the same thing as Mx bras? They looked very practical and comfy to me, but as we all know looks can be deceiving.
Right now Im looking at some options and yesterday tried on a compression type top, seamless but with molded shaped breast (no pads or pockets or anything) and it felt great. The idea for me would be to just sit my breast forms in there and I reckon theyd stay in place. Only problem is they only come in black and that is a dodgy option for me. Black can give me a rash. :-(. Reckon if I could get a beige it would be a goer!
-
coffeelatte: I haven't posted for a while, but reading your post made me furious--I took the CLT training, and yes I learned a lot, and NO, I was not prepared after a long 135 hours to handle all things LE. There are a lot of PT's out there that are well trained, but are clueless. My analogy to CLT training is that you're like an intern when you're done, but you really need a residency to be competent.
Dismissing you based on her mistaken assumption that you couldn't have LE with "just" a SNB is ridiculous. Here is an overview of average rates of LE--although he doesn't address the major impact of mastectomy which removes a lot of nodes within the breast, and the "tail of Spence"-- with the various treatments from Stanley Rockson MD of Stanford, and some of us have weaker lymphatic systems and will get LE much more easily: hehttp://lymphaticnetwork.org/living-with-lymphatic-disease/you-and-lymphedema/
Here is an overview of the prevelance by Carol--your situation presents a 3-23% risk:
http://www.lymphedemablog.com/2012/09/08/the-risk-of-breast-cancer-related-lymphedema-over-time/
And from bc.org--Andrea Cheville from Mayo Clinic on the diagnosis of LE:
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/lymphedema/evaluation/diagnosis
According to Andrea Cheville, MD, associate professor of physical
medicine and rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic, it’s important to look at
the whole picture: not just size and volume measurements, but the
appearance of the limb or other body part. “There is no one value or
standard you can use to say, ‘OK, if you meet that you have lymphedema,
and if you don’t, well then you don’t have it,’” says Dr. Cheville. “For
example, there may be no size or volume changes in the arm, but you
could have subtle hand swelling or pitting on the arm. So it’s important
not to be too locked into arm measurements alone, as that can create a
false sense of security. You also need to be watching the arm and
looking for the loss of what we call ‘anatomic architecture’ — an
inability to see the veins and tendons in the arm as clearly, or less
pronounced knuckles, or skin that is less wrinkled and therefore looks
younger.”So, for the PT not to examine you is substandard. For the PT to do MLD that is painful is flat out wrong. If there were licensure credentials for a LE PT, that PT should lose her license.
Manipulating your back has no place in LE treatment or assessment. None.
If you wake in the the night with hand swelling, you have LE. And it needs to be treated by a good therapist.
I went through several, and I'd urge you to keep trusting yourself and dismissing ignorant PT's who can actually harm you with their treatment and leave you without the full spectrum of care and tools that you need to manage your LE.
Training doesn't guarantee excellence, but here's a way to check on the training of the PT/OT who is treating you--and there are a lot of excellent LMT's out there, who can't take insurance, but are well trained. That's who I see for my LE.
http://www.stepup-speakout.org/Finding_a_Qualified_Lymphedema_Therapist.htm
-
Kira, thank you so much for this post. It has helped me feel a lot better about continuing to find help instead of listening to this therapist as I am sorry to say I suspect she is very wrong. I was worried about lymphedema even before I had the mastectomies because I have had two ulnar nerve transposition surgeries in my left arm (the cancer side) in 2006 and 2007 that did not go well so I dealt with a lot of swelling and pain for three years. It seemed I was finally settled with my arm and then this cancer had to show up on the left side. When I consulted with the breast surgeon, he feared triggering lymph problems in that area so he was considering skipping the sentinel node biopsy. He said he would only take the node if it was easy to get. He did remove it and that is the area where my pain and swelling has been centered from the day of surgery. However, I did not notice swelling in my hand until the first week of January, 2014. It was that miserable, tight skin and ache in the back of my arm that brought back a lot of miserable memories of the two arm surgeries. Plus I can not see the veins in my chest at all on the left side but I seem the clearly on the right. The therapist never had me take my sweater off to look.
Again, I am so lucky and thankful for this website. Without it, I would have thought the therapist must be correct because she has the CLT training and I would have probably gone a very long time before getting a second opinion. I love the links you added as it just is another huge mental and emotional help to me at a time when I feel very isolated, anxious and depressed about this situation. I have a lot to be thankful for (and I am) but pain is pain and it is hard to relax when you don't know the correct way to handle this. So for now propping my arm and doing gentle massage from the armpit to the breast bone to move some of the fluid out (which it does). I see a different therapist on Monday. I saw her for three visits right after surgery when I had trouble raising my arm. She was excellent for that so I am hoping to get some help. I did not go back to her because she is in the same building as my BS, which is a 30 mile drive compared to the PT I saw on Monday which is a five mile drive. Funny, the distance seems like nothing now.
-
coffeelatte, I hope you feel better today. I find it so annoying (for lack of more appropriate word) when on top of everything else we cannot enjoy a good night's sleep...
Kira, thanks for all the info! I will look more into it (MLD) and the different methods, as my MLD was a bit painful too and I'm really tempted to take up my husband's offer, that he himself learns MLD. If only....
Musical, I hope you find a beige one... pardon my curiosity, is it the colour that gives you a rash or the type of garment?
I have a question ladies, about MLD. Would it not be more effective if performed on the whole body and not just the affected arm/area? Isn't the lymph system a System and not just separated parts? Does anyone have any thoughts on this, in case you've heard or read something? I'd like to take it up with my therapist next time...
Also, about docs and risks, as Kira mentions some of us may be more vulnerable for a number of reasons. I recall having swollen hands and ankles before bc, which could or couldn't be related to the lymphatic system, but was never taken in as a factor when discussing risks. Fun things I've heard in the past year from my oncs (just to make you smile, not complaining): I'm too thin to develop LE; they didn't take out so many nodes so my risk is really low; if my arm gets swollen we will see it then; I should see real cases of LE before complaining; my swelling is minor and I shouldn't think about it; it's only a little and it doesn't show; I wouldn't suggest a compression garment because it's really uncomfortable in the summer; you didn't have rads (I refused, a personal decision) so you won't get LE; there is no reason to see a specialist YET (my favorite).
So, if I may add something to Coffee's "things that made my LE worse" would be me taking advice in the past from non-experts and that includes oncs AND some PTs. Not any more...
Coffee, sorry for the long post and I do hope I didn't totally hijack your thread! LE discussion still seems to make me emotional at times. Thanks so much for letting me share here.
-
Lia, please don't apologize for your great post--it's not too long and not out of place in any way!
The lymph system is a whole system, for sure, but it's also divided into quadrants in terms of how it drains. The quadrants are like chicken quarters, and in our case it's a wing quarter that's involved: hand, arm, shoulder, and front and back of the torso from the waist up, and as far over as the center of the body. Manual Lymph Drainage works the nodes in the neck first, since they accept fluid from this quadrant, and it works the nodes in whatever part of the body the therapist plans to send the lymph to--in the case of a unilateral mastectomy that would be the opposite axilla; in the case of bilateral surgeries, that would be the groin. Then the therapist works within the quadrant that's affected, moving the fluid toward the nodes.
So, no, it's not necessary to work the entire body in order to treat LE. And yes, that would be great and it sure wouldn't hurt anything! Next best is to do the necessary MLD to the involved quadrant and then also do some targeted exercises that help the whole system to flow better. Sherry Lebed has an exercise DVD and some Youtube videos available that are specifically designed for that purpose. I quit doing them daily for awhile and just started up again because for me it's really important to controlling my LE. You can order a DVD here:
https://www.gohealthysteps.com/shop/
As for the general ignorance about LE among our healthcare providers, here's information written specifically for them by a doctor who has LE. You might want to make some copies and pass them out to your array of nay-sayers. We shouldn't have to educate our doctors about a serious medical condition like this, but then again it really is our privilege to do so--the women who come after us deserve better!
http://www.stepup-speakout.org/essential%20informa…Be well!
Binney -
Thanks Binney4 :-) I wish the stepup-speakout site had that article in spanish too... but I will translate it myself and I will pass it around, I don't care who gets offended or not. I live in Chile, but will email my doctor back home too, with this article and another on the site "What we need our doctors... to do and know..".
I got a Lebed DVD and some others, but they will not arrive before late Feb-early Mar, so in the meantime I'm doing yoga on my own with Maya Fienne DVDs and just trying to listen to my body and taking it real slow. So far, so good...
Thanks for taking the time to explain a bit more the L system, I was a bit confused. AND now I wanna have chicken wings for lunch!!
:-)
-
Kira=great! Lebed video=great! my le therapist=great! and she said i could bring a friend who does lomilomi massage, so they could watch each other, and learn from each other. and she said the lomilomi would also be fantastic for the lymphatics system, for me. and my friend is excited to learn from my therapist, and with guidance at home from me about mld. she lives right across the street from me, and is willing to barter, as she has lots of things that need to be fixed or painted, which i do. it did get better over time for me as i learned more about what works for me, and as i got a little bit more relaxed, about it. doesnt mean i dont hate it tho- i still do. take care all, off for bone imaging, first one since initial staging ones.eeeeeep!
-
Coffee, there are some good resources to review MLD
http://www.stepup-speakout.org/manual_lymphatic_drainage_massage_lymphedema.htm
All the links should work on this page--personally, I found the JoAnne Rovig site (Northwest LE Center) and while she is quirky (Binney and I sat through a lecture she gave on nutrition and she does mean well, but she is idiocyncratic) her basic MLD videos--just the sweep method, are so easy to learn.
I saw a PT who was trained in a weekend course, and her concept of MLD was to grab eucerin cream and knead me like bread dough.
My LE therapist is both Klose and Vodder trained and has >20 years experience and her touch is so light.
When I took the CLT course, some of the moves are hard to figure out---there are stationary circles (easy for me--on someone else), but those rotatory moves were soooo hard. I paired up with a great PT, who kept correcting me as I worked on her. And again, we only trained on site for 9 days--we came to the course after completing the on-line portion, to make up the full 135 hours. I was not ready for prime time after the training.
I have given lectures at the Vodder re-certification, and it's the only LE school that asks their trainees to come back every other year and demonstrate that they're doing MLD correctly. They are taught by an 80 year old woman from Germany, and my LE therapist says she's often in tears, after Hildegaard is through with her...
And, I was the CLT student from hell. The teacher would say something like "lymphatic transport capacity is fixed" and I would say, pulling out my iPad, "actually the latest studies show that the pump is variable and fatigues with time and is abnormal in the "normal" limbs of a person with LE". The teacher would grit her teeth. But the other students told me they appreciated it.
The teacher mentioned stepupspeakout.org as a reference, and when I told her I helped create it, she muttered "So that's YOUR site" and gritted her teeth some more. And she is a good teacher, from a good school, but she just kind of simplified the information.
I was lost in the wilderness when I first got LE--3 weeks post op--and Binney helped me out.
Coffee, your arm likely was a set up. LE is an inflammatory condition and your prior surgeries set the stage for inflammation.
-
Lia, I didn't see your great post--there are sequences for MLD, and a crucial part of the sequence is clearing the abdomen. I'm going to try and put in some images.
So, in the classic sequence for MLD, the arm/hand is the last thing you do. First you clear the abdomen. You can press down in the five hand positions, or do resisted deep breathing--try and take a deep breath, as you press down. If you massage, gently but as deeply as you can tolerate, with the pressure toward the belly button, massage over the areas around 5 times each. One of the women on this board, would roll a tennis ball on her abdomen to clear the abdominals.
Then, clear the neck and the "good" arm pit, and then the quadrant of the good side, and open the groin nodes of the affected side to receive the fluid. And, if someone else is working on you, they'll clear your back as well. You can kind of use a foam roller to mimick that. Only then do you work on the arm/breast, and you work near to far (proximal to distal). The analogy is to get the first cars in a traffic jam moving.
Hope these images help.
Yeah, I was too thin and only had a SNB, but I kind of knew I had a tendency to swell, so LE was the first thing I asked my surgeon and was told not to worry...
-
What great posts in here!
"Musical, I hope you find a beige one... pardon my curiosity, is it the colour that gives you a rash or the type of garment?"
Lia, No probs at all. For some strange reason (yrs ago) black (next to my skin on torso) had a tendency to give me a rash, but its not cut and dried. I never did get to the bottom of it and just pretty much avoided it. I know an Aunty had the same thing. LOL now I am getting personal... I do have a black pair of knickers which came in a group of 3 and I thought "oh well" . So far theyre OK. COuld be because its not all the time. DOnt know, but Im leary of wearing black for a long time.
Not sure Id be as composed as you about that list of downplaying your LE risk. Sorry you had those things said to you and good on you for not worrying about who gets offended when you need to do something about LE. Hugs.
-
Lia, if you translate a document or two from the stepup-speakout site, you might email them to see if they'd like to have the translated document(s) available for others who could use them in Spanish, too! The contact email on the site is info (at) stepup-speakout.org.
-
So much important information on this thread. I have read and reread it at least five times. Now that I am home and not on my phone I have been able to copy/paste the information into a Word document so that I can print it out. I would also like to order the Lebed DVD later today. I love the information Kira posted regarding the sequencing of the MLD. I have been using the handout the BS's nurse gives to patients before they leave the hospital after surgery (in case you feel or see symptoms of lymphedema) as a guide to help me do some light massage but there was no mention of clearing the abdomen, neck or good side. I am going to stand in the mirror and try it in a few minutes.
I can't thank everyone enough for all the support and information. I don't feel so panicked and hopeless as I did on Monday. I feel better knowing others have survived suboptimal PT sessions because my back still hurts from that treatment. And Lia13, I relate to many of the comments your doctor has said to you regarding lymphedema. The BS said the same to me - you are too thin to worry about it, only SNB so you won't get it, and no rads so no lymphedema. I feel so uncomfortable bringing it up because the BS and his entire office acts like, well we saved your life by the surgery, you should be on cloud nine. I did not have any pain with the cancer (never felt it) so that was certainly a different medical condition compared to the medical condition of lymphedema. I can see it requires a different support system. Thank goodness I have this website!
-
Coffee, I feel the same way about this website and I'm grateful for all the information and support :-) Re-reading my post, I feel my comment about taking advice from non-experts could be interpreted in a number of ways - I was exclusively referring to my docs! It took me forever to realize that I shouldn't expect them to be anything more/else than they already are. LE is just not in their field and they don't receive much education on it, as it turns out. I feel they may be extremely caring people that just cannot handle the idea that the treatments they offer can have certain kinds of effects, so they kind of ignore it instead of feeling helpless-much like a defense mechanism. Could (probably) be wrong, but this thought has helped me cope with the fact that the medical system, as myself came to know it, felt lacking in so many unexpected ways.
I really hope from the bottom of my heart that an LE specialist referral becomes a standard in the treatment/management plan of bc, just like oncs and surgeons and psychologists are. I'm positive we'll see that happening sooner than later, it cannot be ignored for much longer.
Kira, thanks for the additional information. :-) When I see my therapist next time she said she will teach me how to massage my arm and I'll ask her to incorporate more of these sequences both in her practice and mine. I'm curious to see what happens! :-)
I have to tell you guys, every time I read a message of support (personal or not) or learn something new on this forum, I feel like a little kid that found chocolate ice-cream in the fridge! I have some good days and then some bad ones, and it means the world to know that it's ok to have both and to be able to share.
Musical, interesting thing about the colour black, no? after my diagnosis and while cleaning out my closets (as a part of getting rid of the old, in with the new), I just couldn't stand myself in the mirror in my black clothes. They felt... heavy. Go figure! So I just gave everything away and haven't been able to even try on something black ever since. (ps my closets still haven't recovered and remain mostly empty to this day, haha)
Hugs to all :-)
-
Coffee, it's so hard for surgeons no acknowledge that they may harm when they help, the "quit whining, we saved your life" attitude is all too common, and all too frustrating
Here are links to youTube videos from Michigan State on MLD--she also has self care videos--she's a great resource
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSD7j8mSVkM&list=PLFC32283BB86A13A0&index=4&feature=plpp_video
And MLD videos from the Northwest LE Center
http://www.nwlymphedemacenter.org/mgmntvidmenu.htm
LE is a steep learning curve, but if you get the tools, you get the power back and it's less frustrating and discouraging. And hopefully, it just becomes something you manage successfully. I still have to deal with mine, nearly 6 years later, but it's just part of my routine now....
-
The black thing is a real puzzle Lia. Cant make sense of it. A lot of us on here experience lots of skin sensitivities to one degree or another, and these have to be taken into account in dealing with LE. It is a steep learning curve, but there's good documentation and help here.
Well your empty closets are something nice for you to look forward to! Looks like you got a big shopping spree coming up to fill them again!.
-
you bet musical! :-) I've been saving very patiently and soon it'll be time to treat me to a few things. if that doesn't take away my LE blues, I don't know what will :-)
-
Hi Musical,
I woke up from surgery with the pretty pink binder on (I like the blue one also). It wears great, and is latex free, since I am allergic. It was a surprise to have something pretty on instead of bandages. Good luck.
-
Hi Chartruse, welcome! Latex free is great. A lot of these things I never knew existed when I had my surgery.
-
bumping cuz there is a LOT of great info on here! I'm just starting to deal with truncal LE, and trying to figure out the best things to do. My BS also said it wasn't lymphedema cuz i was thin and only had 6 nodes removed, but my oncologist said that I do have it. **stinks**
-
hmmm, my LE actually shows up on my mamo, mine is really truncal but my boobie is bigger after 3 lumpies than before
-
Yes, great information. Kira's drawing has been a life saver for me. I do that exact pattern twice a day at least.
-
Bumping because of the great info and especially for Kira's diagram explaining MLD.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team