Abstract
Lymphedema of the arm and/or hand is a long-term complication of breast cancer treatment. Accurate estimates of the incidence and prevalence of lymphedema are lacking, as are the effects of this condition on overall quality of life. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of unilateral arm lymphedema among breast cancer patients one year after completion of treatment at Cancer Diseases Hospital. The prevalence of unilateral arm lymphedema controlling for cancer stages and treatment types were determined using a cross sectional study. Arm circumference of all breast cancer clients was measured to determine the prevalence of lymphedema. Prevalence of arm lymphedema (95% CI) was mild 60%, moderate was 28% and severe lymphedema was at 12%, respectively with stage I breast cancer patients, only presented with mild form of lymphedema. The study showed that lymphedema after breast cancer is common but mostly mild; increasing the awareness of health professional regarding early diagnosis can help minimize the morbidity of this disease post-surgery and radiation treatments among breast cancer patients. Key words: Lymphedema, breast cancer, patients, arm lymphedema.
Highlights
Due to advances in detection and treatment, increasing numbers of women are diagnosed with and surviving breast cancer each year in Zambia (CDH, 2012)
Out of the 125 clients who participated in the study, 75 clients had mild lymphedema, 35 clients had moderate lymphedema and 15 had severe lymphedema (Table 1)
The study sample consisted of 125 breast cancer patients aged 18 years and above
Summary
Due to advances in detection and treatment, increasing numbers of women are diagnosed with and surviving breast cancer each year in Zambia (CDH, 2012). Breast cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women and accounts for 9% of all histologically proven cancers and accounts for 8% mortality rate among patients admitted at Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka (CDH 2012). Lymphedema or "big arm" is an increase in volume of the upper limb due to accumulation of water, protein and fats following damage to the lymphatic system caused by axillary lymph node clearance (Clark, 2005). Lymphedema can occur after any cancer or its treatment that affects lymph node drainage (NCI, 2015). Affected patients can experience swelling, pain, arm tightness, heaviness of the arm, and recurrent skin infections.
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