Abnormal Swelling

After radiation treatments on Mondays, I visit one-on-one with my doctor to discuss treatment. Today he was very concerned that my treated breast continues to be very swollen. He said that he treats a lot of patients with breast cancer, and he doesn't ever see swelling like I have.

So I had a CAT scan of my breast. They are going to compare today's size to the size at the start of treatment. Dr. E is also going to talk with my breast surgeon to discuss my case.

Dr. E wants to take this very seriously because, if left untreated, the swelling could cause skin dimpling, discoloring, and scarring. "Wait, I already have that," I thought to myself. As he continued explaining, I realized that it might be permanent if we continue down this path. As if the multiple scars on my breast weren't enough--now I might have elephantitis of the breast as a souvenir. Joy!

My dear friend Laurie found an article online about lymphedema, which is swelling caused by removal of lymph nodes. Almost all lymphedema happens with extremities (arm swelling for armpit lymph nodes and leg swelling for groin lymph nodes). However, there are cases of breast swelling attributable to lymph node removal. I'm hanging my hat on that one!

The treatment for lymphedema includes daily manual lymphatic drainage. If caught early enough, all the symptoms can be reversed. So tomorrow I will visit with Dr. E and let him know that I would like to pursue this possibility.

On a lighter note, I now know what I would look like with a DDD breast implant (at least on one side of my chest). And, ladies and gentlemen, I'll stick with my smaller, less attention-grabbing equipment, thank you very much! Dolly Parton, what in the world were you thinking?