美国国家公共电台 NPR She Survived Breast Cancer, But Says A Treatment Side Effect 'Almost Killed' Her

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right, now more on a disease that maybe you've never heard of. It's called lymphedema. It can occur whenever lymph nodes are removed to stop the spread of cancer, and it's most common among breast cancer patients. NPR's Patti Neighmond reports on two procedures that can treat and maybe even prevent the problem.

PATTI NEIGHMOND, BYLINE¹: At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, surgeon Joseph Dayan says every week, he sees patients who've survived breast cancer but break down in tears in his office.

JOSEPH DAYAN: And they're crying not only because they struggle with lymphedema but because many people, including some doctors, do not recognize this as a debilitating² condition.

NEIGHMOND: When lymph nodes are removed as part of some cancer treatments, the normal function of the body's lymph node system is damaged, raising the risk of infection.

DAYAN: It really acts as the sewage system of the body.

NEIGHMOND: And when the system's compromised, fluid can build up in areas where lymph nodes used to be.

DAYAN: It's a disease that is permanent, that's marked by permanent swelling³, the need for wrapping and compressing the limb, and daily care that has a tremendous impact and burden on a patient's quality of life.

NEIGHMOND: Three years ago when Virginia Harrod had a double mastectomy, surgeons also removed 16 lymph nodes. A county prosecutor⁴ in Kentucky, Harrod returned to work just 10 days after her surgery. Everything seemed fine for nearly a year, until suddenly, one day...

VIRGINIA HARROD: I thought I had the hives. My right arm started itching⁵ terribly, and these bizarre, little red blisters⁶ were forming that I thought were hives. Fortunately, I was at the oncologist for a follow-up, and that's when the oncologist told me I had cellulitis.

NEIGHMOND: A bacterial⁷ infection that could be life-threatening. Harrod was then diagnosed with lymphedema. She didn't have the painful, swollen⁸ arm that often comes with the condition, but her infection-fighting system was impaired⁹. She ended up in the hospital two more times with dangerous infections. So when she heard Dr. Joseph Dayan was transplanting healthy lymph nodes into areas where they'd been removed...

HARROD: I'm in. Yes.

NEIGHMOND: She traveled to New York to Memorial Sloan Kettering, where Dr. Dayan transplanted two clusters of nodes from her abdomen¹⁰ into her armpit and forearm.

HARROD: It has been amazing. It's like I'd never, ever had a problem with lymphedema.

NEIGHMOND: Lymph node transplants aren't new, but Dayan says advances in imaging now help him pinpoint¹¹ which nodes are best to transplant.

DAYAN: You can actually see the lymphatic system itself. It's a delicate, beautiful network of vessels¹², and it's like an angiogram for the heart. You can see any disease, any scarring of the lymphatics.

NEIGHMOND: And the new imaging can show a damaged system in patients like Virginia Harrod who don't have obvious symptoms.

SHELDON MARC FELDMAN: This is what you have to be super careful about...

NEIGHMOND: At Montefiore Health System in New York, surgeon Sheldon Marc Feldman is performing another type of surgery. This one's aimed at preventing lymphedema in the first place.

FELDMAN: Good. Good news.

NEIGHMOND: When Feldman removes the nodes, instead of tying off the lymphatic blood vessels, he reconnects them to a vein¹³ in the arm to preserve as much of the body's natural drainage system as possible.

FELDMAN: So their risk of lymphedema is dramatically reduced. It's - you know, it doesn't make it zero, but it definitely dramatically reduces it. So in my study, you know, there was a 4 percent incidence of lymphedema as opposed to 30-40 percent in the group that didn't have it.

NEIGHMOND: Forty-nine-year-old Luana DeAngelis is a breast cancer survivor¹⁴ who runs a foundation helping¹⁵ others. She'd worked with Feldman and knew about his study, so when her cancer recurred¹⁶, she knew what to do.

LUANA DEANGELIS: I knew if he was going in to remove a lot more lymph nodes, I had a very high risk of lymphedema. And I said to him, please, if you need to go in and take a lot out, let's talk about this lymphovenous bypass.

NEIGHMOND: DeAngelis had 22 lymph nodes removed and, so far, no trace of lymphedema. Feldman says in the future, removing any lymph nodes may not be necessary. Science has evolved so that now a needle biopsy can tell doctors just how aggressive the cancer is and whether it's likely to spread. Both procedures - the transplant and the bypass - are only performed at a handful of medical centers, and insurance may not cover the cost. But Feldman hopes that one day, they'll be more available, dramatically reducing a cancer patient's risk of lymphedema. Patti Neighmond, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF TYCHO'S "EPOCH")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

3 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

4 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

5 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 blisters   

n.水疱( blister的名词复数 )；水肿；气泡

参考例句：

• My new shoes have made blisters on my heels. 我的新鞋把我的脚跟磨起泡了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His new shoes raised blisters on his feet. 他的新鞋把他的脚磨起了水疱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

8 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

9 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

11 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

12 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

14 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 recurred   

再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈

参考例句：

• Old memories constantly recurred to him. 往事经常浮现在他的脑海里。
• She always winced when he recurred to the subject of his poems. 每逢他一提到他的诗作的时候，她总是有点畏缩。