Swelling in upper arm only

Yes people can get it either areas. If you don't wear a glove or gauntlet it can get squeezed into your hand progressing your Le.

I have stage one in hand stage two arm.

Will try to explain (as it was to me but don't remember all the exact words) why a glove is imparative with a sleeve even without hand issues.

Think of it as the hand is the last part of/the end of the arm. There may still be certain lymph nodes that do work for the hand to keep swelling down but they are not the ones that drain other areas of the arm. When a compression sleeve is put on the arm, it compresses the arm tissue to move lymphatic fluid. Fluid flows to areas of least resistance - upper arm areas where there are functioning nodes to move it on but it will also go to the lower end (hand) which may be overwhelmed by the additional fluid 'pouring in' thus nothing to keep it from 'pooling' without a compression glove to prevent fluid from flowing into that area of less pressure. Also hands are usually 'hanging' lower than upper arms physically. In other words - a sleeve puts pressure on arm to move fluid- - up or down. A glove is pressure to prevent fluid from moving down (hand) from the sleeve pressure. That's very simplistic but might make sense why it takes both working together and hope it makes sense.

I had swelling only in my upper arm -it was minimal, but concerning. I called the Medical Oncologist office (he was on vacation) and spoke with his Nurse Practitioner, and she set me up with an evaluation. My MO had told me the swelling in the breast would continue for the next 8 years and it was nothing, that my bras would feel tight, etc. My evaluation showed that my breast was LE with spillage to the upper arm. I am waiting on insurance approval for treatment.  So pursue your health and become your own advocate.

Swelling only in my upper arm. I wear compression when I exercise, no glove. It's stayed stable for years but ... knock wood.