Breast and trunk oedema after treatment for cancer

Breast and trunk oedema can occur with or without arm lymphoedema following breast cancer treatment and are often dismissed as common side-effects that will resolve. This paper discusses relevant epidemiology, explores the impact on patients and discusses assessment and management approaches including manual lymph drainage (MLD), compression therapy and Kinesio Taping methods. A number of issues are raised, including the lack of fully validated tools to identify and quantify breast and trunk oedema and the need for further research in this area of lymphoedema management.