Thread by @TheLymphieLife

Open discussion between panelists and audience on updating precautionary guidelines for #lymphedema.
#nln2019

"We need to get clear on what the definition of #lymphedema is, otherwise we're going to be over-treating and over-worrying [cancer] patients."
-Nigel Bundred, professor of surgical oncology, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
#nln2019

Wei Chen, professor & attending surgeon from @ClevelandClinic, offers metaphor as a precautionary note on randomized clinical trials: "We've all had good Chinese food and bad Chinese food. The same recipe by different chefs will taste different. Same goes for trials."
#nln2019

"We do follow the low-risk, high-risk breakdown, but there has to be a logic to it ... We owe it to our patients and ourselves to have some more guidance."
- @DrDhruvSinghal
#nln2019

"For 30 years, I've had reservations about the precautions and myths about #lymphedema prevention ... I always tell people, 'Look, you're either going to get lymphedema or you're not, and it's probably not going to be anything you did or didn't do.'"
-Kathleen Francis, MD

Francis says it's great to provide patients with the information and let them make their own decisions, but what about patients who cannot find a physician who KNOWS about #lymphedema to begin with? Where are they meant to get unbiased info on lymphedema?
#nln2019

"I don't think we need to wait for a randomized controlled trial. I think the evidence is here," says CLT Jane Kepics about changing the current guidelines on precautionary measures.
#nln2019