[Sandra in GA]

I feel the anxiety you are going through at this time. After having 21 lymph nodes removed from my left side during a double mastectomy, I had a terrible fear of developing lympadema. This was made worse by the fact that I have very limited use of my right are because I had Polio as an infant and my upper right arm muscles have atrophied.

When I went for my first visit with my radiation oncologist, the first thing out of her resident's mouth was, "Radiation can increase your chance of developing lymphadema by 30%."

I almost made the decision to forego the radiation treatment, but after doing extensive research, asking the radiologist a long list of questions, and praying a whole lot, I decided that with 21 positive nodes and decreasing the recurrance rate to the local region by 50%, I could not NOT have it.

I did have some swelling, but that has been contained with massages the PT taught my husband and a compression sleeve. Now, two years out, I am NED and my arm is fine.

I know this decision is hard. However, the others who have posted have urged you to think about the best decision for the cancer management. I am glad that I did.

Sandra