Over the years, I’ve heard many people talk about the length of time it takes to wrap their arm (or leg) for the night or during active therapy. In fact, if you go to this video, a breast cancer survivor shares her experience with wrapping. It is time consuming.
Is there another way? Yes! There are several solutions by different manufacturers which involve an inner sleeve with outer sleeves that offer compression and use velcro straps for ease of donning. For someone who struggles with mobility which is often the case especially right after surgery, these are a godsend.
Another use of the compression garments is for those that are in active therapy to reduce the swelling. This the stage when bandaging is the option until the swelling has stabilized. At this point, the therapist is able to write a prescription for a compression sleeve which can then be worn in place of the bandaging.
Lymphedema is never an easy side effect of cancer treatment, but more and more, there are ways to make this situation easier and more fashionable, if one can even imagine wearing a compression sleeve as fashionable. And this applies to other extremities as well, such as the leg and the torso.
