Can lymphedema be prevented after cancer treatment?

No. The National Cancer Institute states there is no way to prevent lymphedema. What you can do is lower your risk and keep it from getting worse, and those steps are worth taking seriously.

Lymphedema is swelling from a buildup of lymph fluid between the skin and the muscle. It happens when cancer or its treatment blocks the flow of that fluid, either because a tumor blocks it, surgery disrupts it, or radiation creates scar tissue that dams it up.

Once it develops, it is a chronic condition that cannot be cured. It can be treated to relieve swelling and improve daily function, and it is easier to control when treatment starts early.

Catch it early, because timing changes everything

This is the part that actually matters most. Lymphedema most often develops slowly over months or years, and it can appear years after treatment ended.

Contact your doctor as soon as you notice heaviness, swelling, or other signs. Watch for a heavy, full, or tight feeling where you had surgery or radiation, swelling that may leave a dent when you press it, and numbness or tingling. In an arm or leg, look for one limb appearing larger than the other, difficulty moving it, or weakness. In the head or neck, watch for swelling in the face, neck, or under the chin, and for trouble speaking, eating, swallowing, or breathing. In the genitals or abdomen, watch for swelling, painful or difficult urination, and pain when walking.

Get seen the same day for signs of cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection that is a common complication and can become life threatening. Its signs are pain, tenderness, redness, and swelling in the area, skin that feels warm to the touch, and fever. Skin over a swollen area is stretched thin, which lets bacteria in more easily. Cellulitis is treated with antibiotics.

What lowers the risk

NCI's list of things to do at home is specific.

Protect your skin from infection. Wear gloves for cooking and gardening. Use lotion to prevent dry skin and cracks. Ask your doctor about an antibacterial ointment for burns or cuts, and call about any redness.

Wear compression garments daily while you are up and moving, and at night if your certified lymphedema therapist advises it. Learn manual lymph drainage from that therapist to do at home.

Exercise. NCI calls it a natural pump for the lymph system, and it may lower your risk as well as help treat existing swelling. Ask your doctor to help find a program that is safe for you.

Elevate the affected area. Keep an affected arm above heart level when sitting or resting, and prop an affected leg on pillows when lying down.

Avoid pressure on the area. Wear loose jewelry and clothes without tight bands, do not carry bags on an affected arm, and have blood pressure readings and blood draws done on the other arm.

Stay at a healthy weight, stay hydrated, reduce salt, and avoid extreme heat and strong sun.

Know your own risk first

Risk depends on your cancer type, its location, and your treatments. Removing lymph nodes raises it, as do infection, slow healing after surgery, past surgery or radiation, advanced cancer, and being overweight.

Location is fairly predictable. Breast cancer treatment tends to affect the hand, arm, or chest on the treated side. Vulvar, vaginal, ovarian, endometrial, cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancers tend to affect the leg, genitals, or abdomen. Head and neck cancer can cause swelling inside the throat, where you cannot see it.

Ask your team whether you are at risk, what changes to call about, and whether you will be monitored for early symptoms. Our guide to lymphedema covers treatment, and the piece on infection and neutropenia covers infection risk more broadly.

Sources

• https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/lymphedema