Need Your Input!

Over the 5+ years that I have had secondary lymphedema - post breast cancer, I have come to the conclusiong that stress exacerbates the situation. I am going to search the literature published and see if there is any correlation between stress and LE.

In my personal situation, I feel like my LE goes into high gear when I am totally stressed. Example: my daughter got married two months ago and while I was thrilled at the prospect and looked forward to enjoying all the festivities, I was stressing over the small details - out of town guests; would my heels be comfortable all day? Would I take good photos; would everything go as planned? To make a long story short, I ended up visting my LE therapist 3X the week before the wedding so that my sleeves wouldn't be tight!

Please take a few minutes to email me with your responses to the following:

Have you ever had a situation where stress made your LE worse?

Does heat make it worse?

Do any foods make it worse?

Does any activity make it worse? What activity, if yes?

Give me a little background about your condition.

Primary or secondary?

How long have you had LE?

Location(s)?

Do you regularly see an LE therapist?

Do you do self-massage?

Daily basis? Twice daily? ????

Do you wear compression garments, use a pump?

Do you take any herbs/medications for your condition?

What do you think started your LE? (Heredity, surgery, radiation, chemo) If you think it was surgery, what type of surgery?

How long after the event that began your LE did it develop?

Does it come and go, ebb and flow or remain constant?

How (if any way) does it interfere with your daily activities? your job? your self-esteem? family relationships?

Do you feel it is noticable to the general public?

Anything else you can tell me about your condition will make for interesting points for us all to share.

Are there any websites, groups, chats that you participate in or read about LE?

Age, sex, height, weight are optional, but will help.

If you want to be included by name in this study, please indicate first name only.

Thanks for your help! We can make LE a household word - I want everyone to know about this condition, but I need all your help.

Linda

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