Sandy, What does lymph. to chest wall feel

[lu ann]

Dear Sandy,

What does lymphedema to the chest wall feel like? I had tram flap reconstruction with my origional diagnosis 14 years ago. With that I experienced much nerve damage in the entire left area of my chest.

I was dx. with mets to spine, chest, ribs, and pelvic bones Feb. 04. I recieved rad. tx. to chest and spine. I have a compression fracture in my spine so I am on 100mcg. fentanyl patch every 72 hours for pain.

I had an MRI to entire spine in August 05, and a recent Ct scan of chest abdomin and pelvis. Bone mets are stable and pleural effusion has improved.

I keep having numbeness and tingling across my upper back, achiness in my shoulders, and a dull pain in the reconstructed area. It feels tight and heavy. Could this be lymphedema? Would lymphedema show up on the CT scan?

I got a good report from the doc. yesterday, but I feel bumbed out because I'm still in so much pain that it is hard to believe that I'm getting better.

Your thoughts or opinions of this are appreciated. I will also ask my doc. next time I see her.

Blessings, Lu Ann.

[Sandy H]

Lu ann everyone is so different. I can have tightness around the chest area. I can feel the fluid moving around. In bed sleeping it will go from side to side depending which side I am sleeping on. I try to sleep on my back. I use lots of pillows to get comfortable. Keep my affected arm up on a pillow. I can see where the fluid pools in the different rolls around the chest and those areas are soft. I can tell you the rebounding I have been doing just in two weeks has made a huge difference. My abdomen is smaller and I don't feel like I am pregnant. My legs have toned up and I am impressed to continue this time. The fluid is moving and I feel much better. Now, if I can loose some weight I will really be happy. Yes, chest wall can be painful at times. I don't take any pain meds in fact I don't take any prescription meds as I feel my immune system doesn't need it. Now, I am not saying everyone should do as I say. If that is what works for you go for it. I just don't like putting anything more toxic in my body. God knows I have had enough. The doctor wanted to give me a shot today because my red count was down but I have never had it real high. I told her no it will be back up next week. She looked at my other labs and "said you are right". I wish you well with your lymphedema. If you go for treatment you need to have someone who does chest wall. Everyone does arms but they don't do chest wall. No massage unless they specialize in cancer massage therapy. We just had a breast cancer wellness in one of the hospitals and they had a massage therapist there saying she can do cancer patients as they are no different becuase massage is massage. Wrong! The lymphedema specialist to me it is done just the opposite for the toxins to be release. I believe she said they massage up and for cancer patients it should go down for drainage. Done very gentle and light. Makes sense. hugs, Sandy