EDMONTON, Alberta, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A Canadian researcher says breast cancer survivors need not fear air travel because of fear of lymphedema -- swelling in the arm.
Margie McNeely of the University of Alberta in Edmonton says women who've had breast cancer surgery where lymph nodes have been removed are often warned changes in airplane cabin pressure could trigger chronic swelling in the arm called lymphedema.
However, McNeely says 95 percent of these women will not have any arm swelling.
McNeely, Sharon Kilbreath of the University of Sydney in Australia and colleagues conducted a study that found 5 percent of women with lymph nodes removed developed any arm swelling when flying. Of these four women, three were back to normal when tested six weeks after the flight and one woman was found at possible risk for chronic swelling. UPI
