SHORELINE
When it comes to cancer, the many medical advances are well-known. What isn’t as widely publicized, though, are the social advances — such as High Tea.
About 30 women gathered on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 19 at the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Senior Center for a “Lymphedema Tea.” Open to the public, the free, informational event was sponsored by the senior center and Cancer Lifeline and was a success by most any standards.
Cloth-covered tables were bustling with activity as the all-women crowd sipped earl gray tea and sampled pumpkin tea bread, lemon bundt, blueberry scones, pea salad and chicken and egg salad sandwiches.
While dining, the women were educated on a topic many of them are familiar with: lymphedema. The chronic condition is an abnormal accumulation of lymph fluid between the skin and muscles throughout the body. It results in swelling and may worsen if left untreated, or result in an infection.
“If you’ve ever had a grandma with swollen ankles, that could be lymphedema,” said Bobbi Meins, community program manager for Cancer Lifeline. “Women with lymphedema have swollen arms and hands; they’re not going to die from it, but it’s pretty uncomfortable.”
Most commonly, lymphedema is caused by damage to or removal of lymph nodes. Many people who suffer from lymphedema are cancer survivors who have had lymph nodes removed, although it also is caused by other non-cancer related conditions.
The condition is common with women who have had lymph nodes removed because of breast, ovarian or cervical cancer. Lymphedema also can affect men, especially those who have had prostate cancer and had lymph nodes removed.
Suffering from lower-half lymphedema, Linda Hoel, a Green Lake-area resident, attended the event to stay updated on lymphedema issues.
“Every time I come to a program that Cancer Lifeline has sponsored, it has increased my knowledge,” said Hoel, 55.
After being diagnosed with uterine cancer in December 1999, Hoel developed lower-half lymphedema in both legs within a month. When diagnosed with cancer for a second time in 2003, this time breast cancer, Hoel refused to have any more lymph nodes removed.
“Because of my experience with lower-half lymphedema, I had no lymph nodes taken out when I had breast cancer,” she said. “I just had a lumpectomy.”
Hoel now wears compression stockings every day on her legs, which she said are similar to pantyhose and cost $1,000 per pair. Compression garments help prevent the refilling of certain areas of the body, such as arms and legs, with lymphatic fluid.
Hoel gets two new pairs of compression stockings every six months after they get stretched out. The stockings are covered by her insurance.
“By 4:30 in the morning I have them on,” said Hoel. “I go from there to the gym to work out.”
The last thing Hoel does at night is “step out of those and jump into bed,” she said, adding that she’s lucky she doesn’t have to wear them all night.
Symptoms of lymphedema vary greatly and most commonly include tightness, swelling of the arms, legs or chest, burning or tingling radiating down an extremity, or unhealthy looking skin, said event facilitator Sandy Weyrauch, a physical therapist who specializes in lymphedema.
“That’s what makes lymphedema challenging for many, is that they can’t always see the swelling,” Weyrauch said. “Some of the things you may first notice (are) that watches and rings don’t fit right anymore.”
In addition to wearing compression stockings, many people who suffer from lymphedema use “manual lymphatic drainage massage” to stimulate the lymphatic vessels in the skin to help promote movement of lymph fluid.
“As for long-term treatment, it’s not something you can make go away,” said Weyrauch. “The most important thing is taking good care of the skin to prevent infections.”
At the end of the tea, the women also learned about the Lebed Method, a type of exercise program that is proven to help reduce lymphedema swelling because it gets lymph fluids flowing, said Claudia Cheyne-Cook, a certified Lebed Method trainer.
The exercise program combines simple stretches and aerobic movements with music and was designed by a dancer and two physicians, she said. The exercise can be done either while seated or standing, and it didn’t take much encouragement for the women at the tea to stand up and try the Lebed Method, following Cheyne-Cook’s lead.
“Pretend you’re in a grocery store, in the freezer department, and your favorite ice cream is in the back,” said Cheyne-Cook, who has lower body lymphedema. “That’s how hard I want you to reach.”
Cheyne-Cook shared her own story with the women, explaining that she didn’t suffer from lymphedema until after flying to the East coast seven years after being treated for cancer. Because the airplane’s cabin pressure is lower than the air pressure on the ground, there is less pressure on the skin and less force driving the blood flow back into the smallest veins.
“When I got off the airplane, boom, I had lower-body lymphedema,” said Cheyne-Cook.
This was the first “Lymphedema Tea” held at the senior center, said Jon Ann Cruver, program coordinator at the senior center and a breast cancer survivor.
“I don’t have it anymore; it has been seven years,” said Cruver, of Shoreline. “I always have to knock on wood.”
To help alleviate swelling in her left arm from lymphedema, Cruver, 64, wears a compression sleeve, which she replaces every six months.
‘They are custom made; I have to get a measurement on a certain part of my arm.” Cruver said. “They’re made in Germany, it’s not an inexpensive thing.”
Pearl Horn, 81, had lymph node surgery about 10 days prior to the tea and decided to attend because she knew very little about the lymph system. A North Seattle resident, Horn was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and said she will soon find out her course of treatment.
“It was very informative, interesting and nice and all the other good things,” said Horn about the tea.
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