So this is a new wrinkle.

It’s been 3 years since my hysterectomy and my first round of chemo. And a bit more than two years since I entered remission. Up until now, I’ve been riding high on great bloodwork, clear CT scans and positive check-ups with my oncologist.

Now this.

I’ve had issues with my ankles and swelling throughout my adulthood — generally after a long flight or in the summer. I’ve worn compression hose off and on to combat the issue, and since my cancer treatment, I’ve made it more of a regular practice to keep my circulation going.

But about four months ago, I noticed that my lower legs were swelling and that the right leg was swelling larger than the left. Thanks to COVID it wasn’t until after the holidays that I was able to see a vascular specialist; by that point my feet had swollen to the point that it was difficult to walk and there were only two pairs of shoes that I could fit into.

That’s the bad news.

Here’s the good news: After a rule-out ultrasound and a discussion of my medical history, the vascular specialist told me that the problem was not blood clots, circulation problems or anything to do with my heart.

Instead, he told me that I had developed Lymphedema, something that is not uncommon for people who have had lymph nodes removed and have had further damage to the lymph system due to chemo and radiation.

This is a condition that won’t ever go away entirely, since lymph nodes don’t re-generate.

I’ve seen breast cancer survivors wearing compression sleeves due to Lymphedema, but it never occurred to me that the cancer in my lady parts would lead to similar problems. But it did.

The treatment is pretty simple — right now we are focused on reducing the swelling. To do that, I go to therapy twice a week where I start with some simple stretching exercises, then the therapist does some light pressure massage, starting at my toes and moving up to above my knee. This is to encourage the flow of the lymphatic fluid back up the “lymph highway” to the main intersection in my neck.

Next, I do another round of exercises, then the therapist wraps my legs pretty tightly in three layers of bandages — toes to knees — wrestles my shoes back onto my feet and sends me on my way.

At home in between sessions, I do three rounds of stretching exercises a day, and re-wrap my bandages as they loosen up. That’s the good part. The bad part is that I can’t remove the wrappings entirely until a couple hours before my therapy session, which means I go four days between showers. UGH.

I’ve had two therapy sessions and I’m already seeing positive results. In fact, the morning after my first session I was walking from my bedroom to the kitchen to get my Diet Coke and I realized that I was trailing a line of bandages after me like the Mummy. Seems the swelling on my legs had decreased so much that the wrappings came loose and slid down my legs. Ha!

Plus, it’s much easier to walk now that I’m getting used to the restrictions around my ankles and my feet have reduced far enough to fit back into lace-up shoes again. But it sure does look weird. Glad it’s cold in SC now and I’m not running around in public, trailing bandages behind me.

So what happens next?

I think the plan is to do 12 therapy sessions, then they will move me to a “maintenance” plan where I’ll have a pair of special Velcro leg wraps to wear at night, compression hose to wear during the day, and ways to monitor recurrence of the swelling.

But if this is the worst thing I have to deal with in the aftermath of cancer, I really can’t complain.

And it certainly won’t keep me from going to Italy in the fall. As soon as Americans are allowed back in, that is.