Just Ask Terry

Terry is happy to provide his opinion on diet and nutrition, supplements and lifestyle choices. This information is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace the advice of your physician and is not to be considered medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Should you have any concerns please contact your physician directly.

Q. Dear Terry, “I had breast cancer twice. I beat it both times, but I did lose my left breast and 7 nodes. I also lead a breast cancer support group. But I have a problem I haven’t been able to beat. I hope that somebody can find answers to how to keep my left arm from chronically swelling. It’s been almost 5 years I have been battling with lymphedema. I have used the iodine blend you frequently mention, the one with three forms of iodine combined for a year. I also use the special absorption curcumin you recommend. I think both are great for cancer prevention. But I need suggestions for my arm! Please do not recommend wrapping it in an ACE bandage, my hand is already a little deformed from wrapping it too much! Any other suggestions would be appreciated.” —Arla R., Taos, NM A. Dear Arla, I am sorry for your struggles—I know lymphedema can be very difficult to manage. This is a common occurrence after a mastectomy with lymph node removal. Since the lymph nodes are gone, the lymph fluid does not circulate as easily and sometimes accumulates in the arm on the side where the breast was removed. Since you are so involved with a support group, I am sure you have already explored some of the exercise programs for manually pumping the fluid in the arm and chest with frequent reaches above your head, and work with weights on the affected arm. While that may not completely resolve the issue, some women find it quite helpful. Many exercise physiologists and chiropractors can help you with finding the best program for you if you need assistance. The first supplement that comes to mind is pyridoxal-5-phosphate, or P-5-P (the bioactive form of vitamin B6) in a formula with magnesium glycinate. This combination is very good for edema. I’d start with 30 mg of P-5-P in a formula with 100 mg magnesium glycinate chelate, three times a day. I like the two together because the magnesium actually plays a synergistic role in activation of the bioactive form of vitamin B6. They work better together than separately. My next recommendation is to try a standardized horse chestnut extract. Many natural medicine companies sell horse chestnut extract to support leg edema and to help prevent varicose veins, or to reduce their appearance once they occur. There are also some applications for using oral horse chestnut extract for hemorrhoids (which are merely rectal varicosities). Researchers then determined that if horse chestnut (key compound is escin) would be useful for these issues with blood vessel strength and problems with edema, might it also be useful for post-mastectomy lymphedema, even though that has more to do with lymph circulation than blood circulation. Therefore, they did a study at University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy. To the best of my knowledge, the study has not yet been published, so I do not know the results of this study. However, it makes sense that it might play a big role in reducing lymphedema, so it certainly might be worth a 2-3 month trial. Make sure you choose an extract standardized for the key compound escin. Healthy regards! Terry . . . Naturally