Lymphoedema: The 'hidden' cancer side-effect no one talks about

Lymphoedema: The 'hidden' cancer side-effect no one talks about Serenity Strull/ Getty Images Lymphoedema affects millions of people worldwide, but receives little attention Patients who beat cancer can be left with an incurable, chronic and painful condition. A silent pandemic "Lymphoedema can affect anyone, and doesn't discriminate on gender, age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status," says Karen Friett, chief executive at the Lymphoedema Support Network, a non-profit in the UK. "Lymphoedema services are being shut down, patients are being ignored, and their condition gets worse every day because there isn't enough support for them." "I couldn't take care of it because I didn't know what it was," says Amy Rivera, who was born with primary lymphoedema. Combined with a severe lack of research and funding into finding treatment solutions, it has meant that lymphoedema has been largely overlooked compared to the impact it has on millions of patients' "We are at least 100 years behind on research," says Kristiana Gordon, consultant physician and associate professor at St George's University Hospital in London, which is the only teaching hospital in the UK to have a dedicated module covering the lymphatic system in its undergraduate medical degree.