Tammy Woodham, cancer and lymphedema survivor
If you’re new to this site, you probably know zilch about this long weird word, lymphedema. For your sake, I hope you never need to become acquainted with the word, but at some time you or your friends and loved ones may learn about it. The way they’ll learn is, unfortunately, through contracting cancer…and it can be any kind, tongue cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer and so on…
Assuming you’re lucky enough to survive, your doctor may come in a visit or two later with a long face, because…in the process of curing you, they may have had to remove one or more lymph nodes. And when they do that, your body changes dramatically. Your lymph fluid, and there’s a lot of it, begins to pool in places you didn’t even know existed. Is it lethal? No, though on occasion many lymphedema sufferers wish it were.
Depressingly, most doctors and surgeons have only a passing knowledge of lymphedema and Pamela found out quickly that we were “in the trenches” all by ourselves. The therapy is expensive, mostly because you’ll need it often. Best to cozy up to your mate or best friend to help because it really takes two people to battle this. You and your best mate on the planet will become masters of applying multitudinous bandages and performing very specific massages. And there are contraptions, some very expensive, though usually covered by insurance, which help as well.
Pam and I have done the homework and you can e-mail us at hrichardharvey@gmail.com to at least point you in the right direction.
All of this background information leads to two very hopeful new break-throughs and these are the point of this short info-gram. If you have someone who needs to know about lymphedema, send them this link: LymphaTouch.com. They have come up with a new concept/new device and it appears to be helping…a LOT. There’s a short video at the bottom of the home page that’s worth its weight in gold. The gal, Tammy Woodham suffered from tongue cancer, and then it spread. She developed lymphedema and the device she’s using is possibly a life-saver.
Watch the video on lymphatouch.com and please forward it to someone who might need it.
Henry
P.S. Although this may seem audacious, down in Old Fort, N.C. we are beginning experimentation with a truly new technique for treating this terrible affliction. It looks very promising and unlike so many lymph products on the market, we do not intend to overcharge our fellow sufferers. It’s simple enough that the price should stay in the very affordable range. Wish us luck and please, please, please, forward the info on Lymphedema.
Thanks