This post is written by my close friend, Pika Sen who is also a breast cancer survivor as well as suffering from lymphedema due to breast cancer surgery.
Very Important:
My breast cancer and/or lymphedema friends, please watch this.
This is the absolutely brilliant plastic surgeon, Dr. Wei F. Chen who helped me get my life back in 2018 with his compassionate and spot-on advice regarding going ahead with LVA (lympho-venous anastomosis) to assist in reducing the swelling in my left arm post surgery for breast cancer. He did this all remotely via phone call, youtube and email back in 2018. I have never even met him personally!
Secondary lymphoedema can be a real, painful, disfiguring, debilitating and depressing side effect of treatment for cancer which has affected lymph nodes in any area of the body.
The key point made by Dr. Chen here is PREVENTION. Aim to prevent.
I faced a lot of passing the buck, denial, dismissal and outright fear mongering by local medical professionals – breast surgeon, medical oncologists and plastic surgeons included, when I was searching for a solution to my swelling in the left arm in early 2018. Don’t settle or accept. Find the best solution you can. Even if he is in Cleveland, Ohio!😅
Share far and wide please.
Current Concepts in Surgical Treatment of Lymphedema
Journey of Wendy 