Rib Pain

While I had a good week-end, I did have some pain in my ribs that flared up Friday night, was kinda bad on Saturday, and started to subside on Sunday.

On Saturday, it kinda hurt to breathe. It was a constant pain that affected my whole demeanor, I think.  Between the rib pain, sensitive teeth, arthritis in my hands, plantar fasciitis and the swollen lymph nodes, I really felt old. 

I wondered about the rib pain - worried if cancer got into the liver - but I also considered the fact that lymphedema had increased, causing more pressure on my ribs. So, I tried to do some self-massage to get the lymph in the right area moving and I wore an Under Armour shirt to bed (sorta works like a compression sleeve). 

Since the pain resolved relatively quickly (I still sorta feel it, but I can go about my daily activities) after wearing the Under Armour shirt, I decided that it was lymphedema.

So, that was the focus of my acupuncture treatment today.  She did "spooning" (gui shui?) by rubbing massage oil on both of my shoulder blades and applying pressure using a spoon.  The right side was really really tender - and I kept flinching away because of the real and also the anticipated pain.  Once I relaxed some and tried to do deep breathing, I could tolerate more.  It is designed to release toxins and release and move the edema. 

Life with cancer . . . there's always something!