Shrinking swollen arms aim of trial
Clothes three sizes bigger – that’s reality for some breast cancer survivors.
It’s because of lymphoedema, a condition experienced by 10 to
20 per cent of women who have lymph nodes removed from their armpit.
And the Waikato Breast Cancer Research Trust hopes to provide relief through a pioneering surgical technique: lymph node grafting.
Research nurse Jenni Scarlet was inspired when she saw the change in a woman she had known for about 15 years.
‘‘[She] had spent a lot of money trying to get relief from her large, swollen arm. She was a size 14 lady who had to buy size
20 clothes to fit over her arm,’’ said Scarlet, who is also secretary of the research trust.
But the arm went back to normal – aside from the stretched skin – after two or three years with grafted nodes in her arm, it went, Scarlet said.
The new technique involves taking lymph nodes from the groin and inserting them into the armpit – and the trust is looking for more women to trial it.
It’s also fundraising to supplement its grants, as clinical trials like this cost at least
$200,000.
In breast cancer surgery, lymph nodes are taken out to limit the spread of cancer, Scarlet said.
But lymphoedema can be a side effect – stopping excess fluid drainage and limiting the body’s ability to fight infection.
The swollen arm is a constant weight on the shoulder and pain may keep sufferers awake at night.
Standard treatment includes massage, therapeutic exercise, and a compression sleeve – but some patients don’t improve.
That’s why plastic surgeon Winston McEwan got interested in grafting, and ran a pilot study in 2014.
About 40 per cent of the patients had an excellent response, he said.
In very simple terms, the idea is that the nodes will connect into the lymphatic system and ‘‘act like a small pump to pump fluid from the swollen arm’’, Scarlet said.
A clinical trial has been running since 2017, and the trust has a grant from the Cancer Society, ten operations donated by Braemar Hospital, and surgeons giving their time.
So far, 23 women have had the surgery, but the trust wants a total of 64.
The trial is Waikato-based but open to women willing to travel.
There will be follow-ups in the two years after their surgery, but the trust hopes to raise enough money to extend that to five years.
One fundraising method is the
2019 Best of Dinner, where the highest bidders will enjoy a table with Waikato greats such as Olympian Rob Hamill or rugby star Stacey Waaka.
The dinner will be on October
23, and will also feature auctions, para-climber Rachel Ma¯ ia as speaker, and entertainment from the Hamilton Operatic Society. Venue to be announced. Anyone interested in taking part in the study can contact research nurse Heather Flay on
(07) 839 8726, ext 97960 or Heather. Flay@waikatodhb.health.nz.
‘‘She was a size 14 lady who had to buy size 20 clothes to fit over her arm.’’