Breast Lymphedema

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mcgis
mcgis Member Posts: 291
edited August 2014 in Lymphedema

How can you tell if you have it? I got radiation after my exchange and both my plastic surgeon and physical therapist said that my implant can harden some and it also might "travel" a little: move upward and outward. I think mine has done that some. In the past my PT hasn't noticed any 'signs' of LE in that area but I'm just wondering what I should be looking for??

Thanks!

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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited July 2014


    I don't have an implant so I can't relate to that part.  I feel swollen,,, not sure how to describe it. When it's really bad, I feel like I have a big wad of wet gauze stuck to my chest that I want to rip off and can't.  And my underarm area gets swollen too. It's puffy and you can poke it and watch it wiggle.

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  • aunt_paula
    aunt_paula Member Posts: 271
    edited July 2014

    Mine feels similar to what glennie describes. Sometimes it feels like concrete on/around my chest. It's puffy under my arm and around my back, and into my shoulder and neck sometimes.

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  • pansylady
    pansylady Member Posts: 2
    edited August 2014

    I don't have an implant, but have been experiencing lymphedema off an on since my lumpectomies/radiation treatment. The worst episode occurred just a few weeks after I finished radiation- I had a very painful, swollen area  under my arm, where the sentinel lymph node had been removed. I think that physical exertion might have precipitated this. My surgeon drained it, and put me on Keflex.

    Since then, the armpit area is a lot less swollen, but it seems as if the extra fluid has now moved into my breast. It is a lot less uncomfortable now, but still a little bothersome.

    My right breast is now larger than the left (it always was, but now more so). Both of my breasts feel swollen, kind of the way they used to feel when I had PMS. The right breast is also pinker, and to me, it feels warm- My GP checked me this week, and he didn't think it was mastitis, so he didn't feel I needed an antibiotic this time.

    My surgeon told me that I had developed seromas (fluid-filled pockets) after surgery- she said that it was nothing to be overly concerned about. I'm guessing that there may be a connection between seromas and lymphedema, though.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited August 2014

    Dear panslady

    Welcome to BCO and we are glad you found us.

    If you look on the main Breastcancer.org website you'll find through using the Search there are a number of possibly relevant articles on "seromas (type in seromas)" for you to read.

    We hope the swelling settles down very soon, but if not please make an appointment with your BS as you seromas may need to be drained and the fluid tested for infection too.

    All our best

    The Mods

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