Two members of staff, Paula Henderson and Rebecca Lew, are trained in techniques to help patients and their families cope with the physical symptoms of lymphoedema. They also work alongside hospice colleagues to tackle the psychological issues that can be associated with a condition that causes noticeable swelling.

Addressed properly lymphoedema is a manageable condition and thanks  to the physiotherapy team, affected patients at Saint Francis Hospice are armed with the knowledge to enable them to continue living with dignity.

What is Lymphoedema?

Lymph is fluid from the body’s tissues and it’s an important part of our immune system helping us to fight infection. It flows through lymph vessels to lymph nodes (glands) where waste products are filterered out and destroyed.

Sometimes after an operation or radiotherapy treatment for cancer this delicate system can be damaged causing swelling where the lymph can no longer drain away.  If you develop the condition this way it’s referred to as
secondary lymphoedema and that’s the type that we treat.

Unfortunately once you have lymphoedema it cannot be cured. However, we are able to work with patients to ensure that their normal everyday lives are not disrupted. Enabling that to happen can involve their family members too because it’s important that the patient gets the daily support they need to keep following basic routines.

How does the hospice help?

The specialist service that we provide is available for any hospice patient, wherever they are receiving their care. Because there’s such a great demand it is also extended to other local people affected by life limiting cancer who do not otherwise have contact with Saint Francis. A referral might be made by any local health care professional recognising the hospice’s unique ability to address their patient’s need.

Rebecca and Paula’s way of working is a combination of giving direct treatment and  empowering patients to look after themselves. In terms of treatment they might typically control a patient’s swelling using a combination of compression garments, skin care and exercise. These techniques help to keep the lymph moving around the body which helps with drainage. A simplified massage can be taught to the patients or their carers to use at home.

The information that we give to our patients is important for their wellbeing. They can do a lot to increase their mobility and reduce sometimes painful swelling through light exercise and by paying particular attention to skin care around the affected area. Our staff are happy to demonstrate how this can be done and we can set up review meetings to make sure that the patient and their carer continues to cope.

As with everything we do, the emphasis is very much on supporting the whole person, not
just treating the patient as a collection of symptoms. Being such a visible condition lymphoedema can have a debilitating affect on someone’s self confidence. Given that it follows the emotional trauma of coming to terms with a cancer diagnosis, Paula and Rebecca work closely with our counselling team to refer people for further help if they
need it.
“To start with it was incredibly depressing and I found the bandages embarrassing. Apart
from anything else they were a constant reminder that I was ill – not what you need when you’re trying to keep positive! It’s a different story now though. In fact I give talks to other Saint Francis patients about positive body image.” Carol Halfteck, Patient

Spreading the message

The specialist lymphoedema service that we provide for Saint Francis Hospice patients is extremely rare. With this in mind we provide telephone support to outside health care professionals. It’s another example of your hospice working right at the heart of world class local care.