One woman's story: How lymphatic massage changed her post-mastectomy experience for the better

Welcome to Fireside Fridays! Our bi-monthly blog posts where we can "gather around the fire" to talk, tell stories and learn from each other.  Since the dawn of time, people have always gathered around the fire to connect and nourish themselves.  In the digital age, it's important to keep our traditions alive, but with a modern twist! 

Today's topic? Post-mastectomy lymphatic massage, why it's good to get and what it can do for you.

So gather around ladies, and let's talk....

Susan's story: how lymphatic massage influenced her post-mastectomy recovery

"Susan" came to me 1 year after her mastectomy surgery; single mastectomy with no reconstruction.  She'd never had a massage before but was suffering from built-up lymph fluid in her chest, shoulder and arm because some stubborn scar tissue on her chest and armpit was preventing the fluid from draining out.  It was achey and sore, felt heavy and numb and she didn't like it.

Susan reached out because she'd heard of me from a friend who had come to see me for post-mastectomy massage.  She wasn't sure what to expect though, so was a little nervous. 

"Lovely woman", I thought, upon meeting her.  She was cheerful and genuine, didn't exercise much and carried extra weight because of it.  She was clear about her intention at the time: she needed some relief from the lymph fluid that had become bothersome. 

I explained how lymphatic massages work and what I thought we could accomplish.  Her fears about pain were immediately waylaid because lymphatic massage is very gentle.  I explained the lymph system is right under the skin so not much pressure is needed to influence it, therefore the pain response is not usually present.  

I was confident enough that we could make some kind of a difference for her, but I wasn't sure how her scar tissue would respond, or whether her lymph had gone toxic from pooling for so long.  She didn't show signs of infection or fibrosis, so that was good. 

We were able to get her lymphatic system working better to drain the excess fluid, in part because we released the stubborn scar tissue that was inhibiting drainage, and also because we manually moved the lymph around to promote better drainage. 

Susan came to understand that because the lymph system is passive, and therefore needs another force to influence it's movement, we can get the best results when we combine intrinsic and extrinsic forces to influence her lymphatic flow. 

Exercise is an example of intrinsic movement.  Intrinsic movement means you are moving something inside your body to move your lymph, such as your skeletal muscles; they act like a pump to move fluid along the lymphatic pathways from node to node, until they ultimately drain back into the circulatory system.  

Extrinsic means a force coming from outside your body.  Lymphatic massages by a trained therapist provides focused attention externally on certain areas to essentially "milk" your lymphatics to move fluid, and is an example of extrinsic movement.

When she came to understand that exercise can help drain excess lymph, Susan started exercising again, which she hadn't done since prior to her cancer diagnosis.  I was really pleased to learn this because to me, it signalled she was committed to evolving her lifestyle to help herself.

Susan experienced immediate relief from the lymphatic massages, and combining that with her increase in exercise she was able to keep the fluid continually moving, so it didn't pool and become toxic.  

We were both very pleased to find out how quickly her body responded, even with the long gap between mastectomy surgery and massage therapy, with the combination of intrinsic and extrinsic intervention.  

She no longer had the aching, heavy feeling in her chest, shoulders and ribs, started to loose some weight from the exercise and felt more energized in general.  It was also empowering for her to recognize she could have some influence over her healing experience, and it strengthened her commitment towards self-care. 

Susan's story is a good demonstration that it is never too late to start lymphatic massage in your post-mastectomy journey, and never too late to influence your health! 

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