Breast cancer is all too common in today’s world and with the diagnosis comes a mind-numbing assortment of treatments.  Surgery: whether it be mastectomy or lumpectomy, the breast cancer treatment plan always involves removal of tissue and often involves plans for breast reconstruction.  Chemo: often times a breast cancer patient will need to endure four, six,, or more rounds of chemo which comes in tow with surgical placement of a port.  Radiation:  this often involves at least 35 days of consecutive treatments which take seven work-weeks if not more.  Breast Reconstruction: sign up for weekly or bi-weekly appointments with your plastic surgeon for painful expansions to “pump up” the skin and muscle that will be used to reconstruct the breast with implants at a later date. The daily planner becomes consumed with appointment after appointment, for often times none-too-pleasant meetings. 

It is no wonder that when a physician, colleague, or friend mentions physical therapy to a breast cancer patient, it is often low of the totem pole of things to do.  It is also no wonder that sometimes physicians seem to think adding physical therapy to the mix will burden the patient with another commitment that will contribute to their feelings of being overwhelmed.  But I am here to help survivors to understand, that physical therapy after breast cancer surgery should not an option, but rather a requirement.  It is the missing link.

I understand that making such a claim is rather dramatic.  However, time after time, I have seen the relief on breast cancer patients’ faces after learning more about their post-surgical body. And if a patient is having issues with her lymphatic system, such as lymphatic cording which can result in very painful and rather misunderstood symptoms, the relief after the first visit seems to be immense. It seems a huge weight is lifted just to hear a “lymphatic expert,” as we therapists have been called at Oncology Rehab, tell them that their symptoms make sense, and that there is some help we can give them. 

I won’t try to explain all that I know about post-op care for the breast cancer patient in this essay, but I do want survivors to know that help is out there, and also to understand that it would never be overkill to consult with a physical therapist, especially a physical therapist who specializes in oncology. Even if you don’t feel you have any out-of-the-ordinary symptoms after surgery or at some point in your post-op care, there is likely a thing or two you can learn about how to get back to full life after cancer.  Most physicians would be more than willing to give a prescription for physical therapy, but in Colorado and most states, you do not actually even need a prescription to have PT.

I will end my shameless PT plug today to add that there are two things for which a patient really MUST consider seeking care for: 1) Lymphatic cording which I mentioned earlier. Cording is a thin, tendon-like structure(s) that comes to the surface in the armpit and sometimes down the arm on the side of the body that the lymph nodes were taken from. It usually causes loss of range of motion of the arm, and can be very painful with a nerve-type pain when trying to move into the restricted range of motion.  It is a sign that the lymphatic system is struggling with it’s “load,” and you would really benefit from seeing a therapist trained in manual lymphatic drainage. 2) Expansion pain that is debilitating and/or that lasts more than one to two days after the saline expansion of the tissue expanders. If is normal to have a rough few days after seeing the plastic surgeon to get a fill, however some women seem to have more pain than others, and you do not need to suffer in silence. There are trained professionals who can help! 

OK, I’m wrapping this up. I know I may have just sparked a number of questions so please feel free to shoot them at me at Brianna@oncologyrehab.net.  If you are in the Denver area and interested in physical therapy, please look us up, (Oncology Rehab), and feel free to email me to inquire about an appointment as well.  Thanks for reading!

Brianna Kearney

Physical Therapist/”Lymphatic Expert”

Oncology Rehab