My lovely friend is 10 years on from stage 3 breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy with lymph node removal at the time. She's been a real coper and has kept the oedema at bay for all these years. Now it's really bad and the therapies she was relying on are no longer working and she spends up to 8 hours a day massaging her arm and using a specialised laser (used in oedema prevention in antipodean countries I understand) to attempt to keep the swelling at bay but it's defeating her.
My friend's also recently been diagnosed with osteoporosis. It's a terrible blow for her and she is no longer coping emotionally and is at her wit's end. Anyone who's been through anything similar, please offer some advice, especially in coping with or treating oedema as it is this that dominates each and every day. Thank you. I'll pass on any helpful comments; right now she so overwhelmed I don't think she could post herself.
