Just wondered if anyone out there could help me!
I have had a swollen hand since my mastectomy and node clearance and I am having trouble getting anyone to take it seriously. The physio measured my arm and compared it to my “good” one, but on average it wasn’t bad enough to merit attention.
Still…it is stiff and dense and occasionally sore, when I pricked it last week (I sew for a living so stand a fair chance of developing Lymphedema I guess) it oosed water rather than blood.
Has anyone had anything similar that eased off, or do I have the start of lymphedema??
Any advise welcome
Gillian
Hi Gillian
If you have a swollen hand, you need to see someone (onc/bcn/GP - whoever is the most pro-active and on the ball of your health care professionals lymphoedema-wise) asap, so that they can refer you to a lymphoedema nurse/clinic asap.
Your symptoms sound like lymphoedema (but may not be) and it is possible to ‘feel’ it before your arm becomes noticeably bigger (who was it, by the way, who decided it ‘wasn’t bad enough to merit attention’. The physio? Is she qualified to diagnose and treat lymphoedema?) Lymphoedema can start in the hand and the fact that yours oozed a watery liquid and not blood would suggest that you might be developing it and need to get it checked out with the minimum of delay. It doesn’t get better on its own and the earlier treatment is started, the more successful it tends to be. (I have lymphoedema myself).
Don’t forget to disinfect any cuts, pricks straightaway if you get them on your ‘bad’ arm and hand.
By the way, are you currently having Taxotere, by any chance? That can also make your fingers, etc, swell.
Let us know how you get on,
X
S
Thank you Bahons!
I’m going to see the doc on Tues and see if I can get sent to someone who might know about such things.
Im on epi/cmf but have had this since before chemo started
I better stock up on iodine I think too
thanks for the help
GIllian
Good luck, Gillian
Hope you get referred very quickly - you may need to be persistent.
X
S