How soon lymphedema shows up
I had lumpectomy and 4 nodes removal. If am susceptible, How soon lymphedema shows up after surgery
Comments
-
I was told it is a lifetime risk. I had 21 nodes removed over 7 years ago, and so far so good.
-
I just left my BS office an hour ago to have my drains out, and I asked her this very question. She said it's a lifetime risk, but it will usually pop up within the first 2 years if it's going to. She also said being younger, being a healthy weight, not smoking, etc all improve your chances of not developing it.
-
A slight sunburn triggered my LE a year after surgery.
-
Radiation triggered my lymphedema. 7 months after the surgery.
-
Our church group had a lymphadema specialist give a talk about this very thing. She said it is a lifetime risk and the more lymph nodes removed the greater risk. Several ladies in our group have it and it is brutal. One lady said she knows she overdid it after her surgery and treatments as in lifting too heavy objects, etc. she developed it within 2 years of her treatments. I remember my MO warning me I didn’t want to get it so be careful. I had a micromet removed from my SN. Only one.
Diane
-
Lucky me woke up from bmx and my arm and hand was swollen. 7 nodes out.
-
With just four nodes removed, you've got a very slight chance of Lymphedema IMO. Basically, you've still got three-quarters of your lymph nodes available to fight infection. That said, treat all scratches, insect bites, sunburn, etc, asap. I had all my lymph nodes removed five years ago and haven't had any problems.
-
A deep shave skin biopsy near my breast caused my ever so slight truncal edema....it is managed and slight (as long as I generally stay braless), but because that happened so easily I take every precaution. This happened around the 1 year mark.
-
Lifting three grocery bags with my "bad" arm gave me full-blown lymphedema. You know the plastic kind of grocery bags - we are all guilty of grabbing a bunch of bags in one hand, right? That was 5 years ago, 2 years after treatment.
My sister's lymphedema showed up mostly as truncal lymphedema after her Diep Flap Reconstruction.
I've met women who got lymphedema 20 years out. Always a risk I'm sorry to say!
And my best advice - wear a compression sleeve when you fly no matter what the doctors say!! I've met too many women who got full-blown
lymphedema after a flight (and not even long flight!) The protection is important and a small price to pay while flying!
-
Yesterday I was kind of doing some kind of hand movements to move the lymph fluid from left to right. In that process when my right breast was moving up and down I felt the some water sound going up an down.. felt little weird. It is the same kind of feeling sometimes you feel in your tummy with the fluid moving..
This is being my current constant distractor of how to deal with lymphedema.
Just below the back of the shoulder where it reaches the armpit, total numb. I don't feel a thing.
-
I saw an interview with Kathy Bates once where she said she woke up from her breast cancer surgery with it. Incidentally, she says that since she's lost weight it's helped a lot with her lymphedema.
I've been doing pretty much everything people say are bad to do and I'm fine. I really think that the main triggers are what the few studies suggest they are:
- Many nodes removed
- Radiation and/or Chemo
- Overweight
- Smoking
I'm sure there are other factors, like being born with fewer nodes than normal, but this list covers most.
-
I had 2 positive nodes and radiation. I was not overweight, have never smoked, and didn't have chemo. So far, so good, 7+ years out.
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