Under Pressure
Overlook introduces a new therapy program to get patients back on their feet after cancer treatment.

For many cancer patients, the very treatments that sustain and save their lives also detract from quality of life. Side effects can be persistent and debilitating long after they have come through therapy. For those who develop secondary lymphedema, a buildup of fluid in soft body tissues that occurs when the lymph system is damaged or blocked, the side effects can take both a physical and emotional toll as they are forced to the sidelines, curtailed by restrictive or even disfiguring swelling. “There’s a lot of emotional turmoil,” says physical therapist Jennifer Turco, MPT / CLT. “Patients say, ‘I had the cancer, I had the surgery, I made it through the recovery. Now I have to deal with this?’ ”

For these patients, Overlook has introduced a lymphedema therapy program through the Carol G. Simon Cancer Center. Turco and fellow therapist Ginean Wolfe, MPT / CLT, both certified in lymphedema therapy typically work with patients for four to six weeks to manage the swelling and provide them with the necessary skills for self-management once the therapy has ended.

Secondary lymphedema is not a result of cancer itself but rather of the methods used to treat it, Wolfe explains. “Lymph nodes that are removed in surgery or damaged through radiation will affect the lymph system: the vessels, tissues, and organs that fight infections and other diseases,” she says. Not all cancer patients will develop lymphedema and there is no predictor to help determine who will get it and who won’t, although women are more at risk than men, statistically.

Patients enrolled in the lymphedema program are treated with Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT), in which the lymph nodes are drained manually using light-touch massage in a special pattern to guide fluid to other areas of the body. CDT also includes compression with special bandages (almost like a soft cast) and special garments. Proper skin care is a key component (patients are at increased risk for skin infections because their systems are not draining properly), as is exercise.

“Once you have lymphedema, you have it,” says Wolfe. “You can manage it to a stable size, but you can’t get rid of it. Like diabetes, you deal with it.” As a result, proper education is crucial to self-management. “It’s a lifestyle change,” says Turco. “It’s a commitment patients have to make their whole lives, but it’s worth it.”

For more information on lymphedema therapy, call (888) 235-1915.