After getting the kids off to school and doing my 45 minutes of yoga practice at home, I headed to the Mater for this week's seminar on lymphoedema. I am now attending these weekly groups as both a peer volunteer and a patient. This one was particularly interesting given my current condition. Dr. Theresa was an excellent presenter and made the information really accessible.
I was asked by one of the women currently going through chemo about my experience with the cold cap. I told her that I was happy I'd done it but could understand her issues with the discomfort and pain. The group moderator helped out by sharing her findings that it's a personal decision.
After a quick lunch with Ruth, I headed back to the hospital for my physio appointment with Carol. She took my L-Dex (the measure of the amount of fluid in my arm) which was down to 38.5, nearly half of what it was back in August (normal is under 10). At least it's moving in the right direction, which keeps me motivated to continue wearing my compression garments. She also "lasered the hell" out of the fibrotic (hard) areas in order to break them up and increase lymph flow. As she said it's probably one of the best things for the fibrosis, I've booked in weekly for the next month. It won't be cheap so fingers crossed it helps.
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