Swollen leg on one side

Dear Cockerspaniel57,

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the online community, I hope you find it supportive. My name is Carla and I’m one of the Cancer information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

I am very sorry to read about the change to your family member’s condition.

Here at the Macmillan support line, we provide free, confidential, generalised cancer information and emotional support. We are separate from the NHS services and therefore unable to access patient records to give individualised advice or attempt to diagnose the reason for your family members swollen leg.

As I don’t have access to your family member’s clinical details, I am unsure if they are undergoing anti-cancer treatment at the moment. If they are, they may have access to a 24-hour urgent contact number for the hospital that they are having their treatment.

As this could be a side effect to treatment, I would strongly encourage you to call this number for an urgent clinical assessment.

If your family member is not on treatment however, advice from NHS Website states to contact for an urgent GP appointment or to get help from NHS 111 in the event of swelling in 1 ankle, foot, or leg where there is no obvious cause such as injury; or if the swelling is severe, painful or starts very suddenly.

Other things to look out for would be if the swelling is red or feels hot to touch; or if your family member has a raised temperature or feels hot and shivery.

I would also make you aware if your family member experiences any of the following symptoms, we would recommend calling 999

• Shortness of breath or struggling to breathe.
• If chest feels tight, heavy, or painful.
• If they cough up blood.

This can be a sign of a blood clot in the lungs which requires immediate treatment in hospital.

Thank you for reaching out, if you think it may be helpful to chat things over in more detail with one of the nurses here, please do give us a call. We can often explain things better over a spoken call with the opportunity to ask questions. 

Supporting a loved one with cancer can cause a wide range of fears and for all of you. Please do your best to look after your emotional and physical well-being; If there is anything we can do to support you too please do get back in touch. 

I hope this helps to guide you. Don’t hesitate to come back if you need anything.

Best wishes,

Carla, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.

Ref: CC/KHe