It’s estimated that 10 million people in the U.S. suffer from lymphedema. The painful build-up of fluid has several causes, but fewer solutions. Katherine Amenta sat down exclusively with the UPMC doctor who became the first in the country to try a new approach.
“I don’t think I ever really thought about, ‘I can’t do it’,” said Cathy Niebel. “I just have to figure out, ‘how can I do it?’’”
For Niebel, filling a room with music wasn’t always so easy.
“There’s many lessons that I had to learn growing up,” said Niebel. “How to overcome things that other kids didn’t have to overcome.”
Those life lessons started in 1977 when she was just 7 years old. Niebel broke her arm and the trip to the ER changed her life. Doctors diagnosed her with a rare cancer in her left arm, Ewing sarcoma. She was cured, but it also left her with a life-long condition: lymphedema.
“When I was 10, I remember seeing swelling in my arm,” said Niebel.
That swelling was the result of fluid that can build up in our tissue when the lymphatic system is damaged or lymph nodes removed. It can happen after cancer surgeries like Niebel’s or burns or other trauma.