Sharing knowledge about lymphedema

By Megan

From The Occasional Hot Flash

After two mastectomies, chemo and radiation, Bonnie Pike was beginning to feel she was out of the woods. Then things closed in again. In 2004 she developed lymphedema, an irreversible condition in which the tissues of the arms and sometimes the torso become prone to swelling and infection. Doctors and nurses are surprisingly ignorant about the causes and treatment of lymphedema. Bonnie used to be ignorant too. That was then.

After educating herself, she started educating everyone else-counseling women with lymphedema and designing and teaching classes for nurses. To further spread the word about prevention and treatment, she co-founded the nonprofit advocacy organization Step Up, Speak Out, and helped launch its website, www.stepup-speakout.org.

I'm blogging this week about women who have inspired me. Do you know anyone who was galvanized into action through her experience with cancer?

Posted June 3, 2010.