Actress & Survivor Kathy Bates: Value The Moment & The World Needs to Understand Lymphedema

Bates, 70, survived both ovarian cancer and breast cancer, and said the experiences taught her to cherish each day. “If you can hold on to that aspect of being a cancer survivor, it’s the best thing you can do for yourself,” Bates said last week to Closer Weekly at an event in New York City.  “I’m grateful it’s given me a chance to use my celebrity to help people.”

Now that Bates has finished treatment and is feeling good again, she said that the experience made her appreciate her loved ones … even more than she already did. During difficult times “you value your friends,” the actress said.

Advocacy

She also used her experience to become an advocate for lymphedema awareness. Lymphedema, or chronic swelling, can occur after surgery and radiation treatment for breast cancer. It occurs when lymph vessels that channel fluid throughout the body are impaired and cannot dispose of fluid effectively. This causes fluid build-up and swelling, usually in the arm and hand.

It’s fairly common in women who undergo breast cancer treatment, but doesn’t get a whole lot of attention. Bates wants to change that. “It affects more people than ALS, MS, AIDS and Parkinson’s combined,” Bates told People. “Ten million Americans. But people just don’t know about it.”

When Bates was dealing with the painful symptoms of lymphedema, she worked with the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN) to find a doctor who really understood the condition. Bates said a lot of doctors overlook the symptoms of lymphedema, assuming that the swelling is due to patients being overweight.

There are several ways to treat lymphedema, including compression garments, exercises, and even surgeries in some cases. The actress recently lost 60 pounds by adjusting how she approaches eating, and said that the weight loss has helped a lot with her lymphedema — though she does still wear compression garments as well.

She also realizes that she’s lucky she had access to the resources she did when she began to experience the symptoms of lymphedema. That’s why she became a national spokesperson for LE&RN. “I’ve been asked to lend my name to a cause [before] and I’ve made it my policy not to do that,” Bates said about her decision to speak up about her experience with cancer and lymphedema. “But this is the first one I’ve felt strongly about.”

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