aviva727

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aviva727
Miami, FL
Member Since Jul 2012

My Goodwill

Their Diagnoses (1)

- Patient: Breast Cancer
- Patient Info: Currently in active treatment (initial surgery, receiving chemo rounds/radiation), Diagnosed: almost 5 years ago, Female, Age: 37, Stage III, HER2 Positive: No, ER Positive: No, PR Positive: No
- View this journey (4 Experiences)

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Question: Anyone have lymph issues post surgery and have suggestions regarding treatments?
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about 4 years ago
aviva727 asked a questionBreast Cancer

Anyone have lymph issues post surgery and have suggestions regarding treatments?
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about 4 years ago
5 answers
- aviva727
  
  @nancyjac I have 3 lymph nodes very swollen that seem to not be draining. They biospied one and said there are cells in there that appear to look like the cancer cells that they removed but they did not seem to know for sure. With this being said they want to do 3-4 months of chemo for them which terrifies me.
  
  @MarnieC they removed 4 during surgery and there were no issues with them until about 3 months later and then they started to swell and cause a problem. At that point they biopsied one and said there were some cells that resembled cancer cells in the node. I am just curious as to whether or not it is more a drainage issue or a lot of cancer cells in the node.
  
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  about 4 years ago
- nancyjac
  
  Do you have the pathology report from the biopsy? Were the lymph nodes removed with your original surgery malignant? Lymph nodes function primarily as filters for the lymphatic system of vessels and and do not store fluid. Lymphedema is the swelling of lymphatic vessels, not lymph nodes. So if it is your lymph nodes that are swollen, it is likely to be an infection, inflammation, or cancer. Since the lymphatic system is the primary carrier that allows cancer to metastaticize to other organ, treatment with chemotherapy is pretty crucial. If you have fluid pockets, these are called seromas and are not lymph nodes, but rather inter-vascular spaces filled with serus fluid that can be drained by needle aspiration. .
  
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  about 4 years ago
- MaryannS
  
  Hi Aviva, I had 5 lymph nodes removed, and noticed swelling approximately 4 months after my lumpectomy. The surgeon sent me to a physical therapist who specializes in lymphedema. The therapist would manually massage my hand, then massage up the arm,into the shoulder then massage the breast then finally the abdomen, As that was how the lymphatic system draining. Then taught me how to wrap my whole arm in special bandages that had very little elasticity.Once the arm was bandaged, the more I moved my arm with the bandages, as the muscle contracted and the arm was wrapped it would help the lymphatic system drain.. I did this for approximately 1 yr, the swelling went down enough. The surgeon finally gave me a script to be fit for a glove and sleeve.
  
  I hope this helped. Any other questions just ask.
  
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  about 4 years ago