Angela D. Eby was relieved when she completed radiation therapy for breast cancer. Like other cancer survivors, she embraced healing and moved forward with life as a retiree.
Five years later, though, she developed pain, soreness and swelling in the breast where she had the lumpectomy.
Angela said she initially ignored the symptoms, but as time passed, she started to worry her cancer had returned. She contacted her Penn Medicine doctor and moved up her oncology check-up. Angela learned her symptoms were not a recurrence of cancer but rather radiation fibrosis, which an MRI confirmed.
Radiation fibrosis is a chronic and progressive late side effect of radiation therapy. It thickens or scars normal tissues and blood vessels in the treatment area. Angela’s physician recommended lymphedema therapy to lessen the accumulated scar tissue and reduce her discomfort.
At Penn Medicine | Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy – Bryn Mawr, Angela took part in specialized lymphedema therapy to improve her disfiguring and painful radiation fibrosis symptoms. Manual techniques and gentle progressive exercises reduced her scar tissue and improved blood flow. Soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release techniques, scar tissue massage and manual lymph drainage were used to lessen discomfort and regain functional mobility.
Prior to therapy, Angela was uncomfortable with massage, but said lymphedema therapist Bernadette Erikson, PT, CLT-LANA, provided a compassionate, caring approach to the therapies that calmed her fears.
The outpatient team at Bryn Mawr also worked with Angela’s insurance to secure a specialized bra that reduced the discomfort from her breast distortion.
“I will have radiation fibrosis for the rest of my life, so I continue to do the recommended exercises. I also added aquatic exercise at the local YMCA to my wellness routine,” Angela said. “I am grateful that Penn Medicine | Good Shepherd Rehabilitation reduced my worries and taught me how to manage my condition while maintaining an active life.”
