[NStewart]

Lymphedema from subcutaneous Velcade injections

by NStewart on Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:36 pm

I have an unusual question of those of you who are receiving subcutaneous (subQ) injections and of the other readers here. I am a physical therapist who treats people with problems related to their cancer treatments. Most of the people I treat have lymphedema.

A woman who I started working with a week ago has significant swelling in the arm on the side where she was treated for breast cancer 10 years ago. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in March following a fall that resulted in a fracture in the non-breast cancer side. She was put in a full length fracture brace on that arm. She was started with subQ injections of Velcade in her breast cancer arm that has resulted in the swelling in her arm. She says that she kept telling them in the chemo center that she couldn't get injections in the breast cancer arm, but they did it anyway.

Has anyone else developed lymphedema in an area of their body that has been previously treated for cancer by having lymph nodes removed and/or had radiation in that area where the injections are being given? This bothers me that most people with multiple myeloma wouldn't even think of this type of a result from the injections. Many of us are having radiation in areas that could lead to problems with injections in the arms or abdomen. Many women may have been previously treated for breast and/or gynecologic cancers.

I'm going to raise this issue with the cancer centers I work for, and am treated at, so that a possible warning can be made to the members of the support group I attend. Does Millenium have any warnings about this in their literature?

Thanks,
Nancy in Phila