This film was made by the Moore Lab at Imperial College London to raise awareness about breast cancer-related lymphoedema (BCRL), an under-represented women’s health condition.
BCRL occurs in 20% of patients receiving breast cancer treatment. In the UK and USA combined, there are almost one million women living with BCRL right now. BCRL presents as chronic arm swelling and negatively affects patient physical and mental health. Breast cancer surgery with lymph node removal severs lymphatic vessels, disrupting fluid transport from the arm.
There is no cure for BCRL, only symptom management via compression garments, specialised massage, exercise, and skin care. This is expensive, and not easily accessible for patients. BCRL prevention is called for by care providers, and would save the NHS £200 million, and the USA healthcare system $650 million over five years.
We want the public to know about the day-to-day challenges BCRL patients face in order to increase funding and research activities to treat and prevent this life-altering condition.
People are often not aware about the reality of living with Lymphoedema. Thank you to these patients for sharing their stories.
Please visit lymphaticnetwork.org/, and www.thebls.com/ for more information.
For more information on involving patients in this research, see • Co-production - workin...