Care physical therapy in control of secondary lymphedema treatment of breast cancer

routine Cancer Hospital III/National Cancer Institute

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer among women in Brazil. Because the diagnosis is still held in advanced staging, treatments need to be more aggressive, which increases the risk of morbidity. Among these complications, the most prevalent is the lymphedema, characterized by failure of the lymphatic system resulting from the obstruction caused by the treatment of breast cancer. It is a chronic disease that can evolve with significant physical changes and psychosocial affecting the quality of life of these people. Physical therapy has different behaviors that can be implemented at all stages of cancer treatment, boosting shares of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of lymphedema. The aim of this paper is to disseminate the approaches adopted in the Department of Physical Therapy of Cancer Hospital III, in the National Cancer Institute, for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lymphedema of the upper limbs in patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Through this publication, we seek to provide a subject of discussion among health professionals of different levels of care, with the goal of collaborating to control lymphedema secondary to breast cancer.