Can you speak about why the radiation can increase the risk of lymphedema?
In breast cancer, we know that the surgery has removed some of those lymph node areas that were serving as a primary drainage of fluids and proteins from the arm. There is some trauma from that and you may develop some scar tissue in that region. Radiation therapy can add to the scar tissue formation, not that your scars will be over the arm area, but rather underneath the arm. You may have some firmness of that tissue, and your lymphatic system may not be able to function quite as well because of the toughening of that tissue.
