Lymphomaniac

Your body’s best-kept secret

Photo by Janosch Lino on Unsplash

The lymphatic system is one of those things that I was only vaguely aware of before I had breast cancer, and with which I am now slightly obsessed (see also: health anxiety, Emla cream, local oestrogen, Manta hairbrushes).

My previous awareness of lymphatic drainage was having seen it as a treatment on a massage menu - not an option I would have chosen because: what is it?

So when the surgeon said that my mastectomy would involve “full axillary lymph node clearance” (ie. the removal of all the lymph nodes from my right underarm), I just nodded numbly, as I did to many things in the weeks following my diagnosis.

Now I know the lymphatic system is an important part of the immune system. 

Lymph is a clear fluid that travels around your body, carrying lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. These amazing immune cells identify and destroy bacteria, preventing infection and ke…