So I have secondary lymphoma- what's it mean

Secondary lymphedema is a condition characterized by swelling of the soft tissues in which an excessive amount of lymph has accumulated, and is caused by certain malignant diseases such as Hodgkin's disease and Kaposi sarcoma.

Secondary lymphedema also can be caused by several non-malignant diseases, such as lipedema, and can result from the removal of lymph nodes during various cancer surgeries, especially for breast and prostate cancers.

When I heard these words I was like - omg what now. Ok plain English I lost a third of my lymphatic system. So my body now has to train itself to drain differently, basically if it gets bad you can end up having a trunk leg or arm. This is a thickening that is very hard to treat. When I am on a plane I wear a sleeve that's a compression sleeve. I got told to put it on an hour before flights and leave it on and hour after. I did look a bit like a burns victim the first time. But now I am a bit of a pro I don't even think about it and often forget to remove it, it's to stop swelling. 

I guess on the flip side I am quiet lucky. In the Olden days you post all of your lymph nodes. So there must have been a lot more problems back then. 

Gosford District Hospital put on a course for the patients post surgery, I am sure a lot of hospitals do this. So enquire I took a girlfriend with me and we learnt a lot, these medical words care very scarey so find out as much as you can. Knowledge is power as they say. 

#lymphnodes #drainage #cancer #survivor #breastcancer

Secondary or peripheral lymphoid organs, which include lymph nodes and the spleen, maintain mature naive lymphocytes and initiate an adaptive immune response. The peripheral lymphoid organs are the sites of lymphocyte activation by antigens. Activation leads to clonal expansion and affinity maturation.