Andrew Huberman

And that's because cancer cells can actually get into the lymph nodes and they can proliferate there.

We often hear that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, and that's one of the reasons why often the lymph nodes are removed prior to the spreading or early in the spreading of a cancer to try and prevent the broader migration or so-called metastasis of that cancer to other tissues.

The lymphatic system is targeted in this way because if you think about it, the lymphatic system is in a position to distribute all sorts of things, including bad things like cancer cells,

that could proliferate further in other tissues.

So that's why lymph nodes and vessels are often intentionally destroyed as part of cancer treatment.

And as a consequence, there's less drainage leading to so-called lymphedema.

Now, lymphedema can occur for other reasons, and it has various stages.

It's actually been mapped out.

I'll provide a link to this.

There's stage one, two, three, and four.

And to briefly summarize, stage one is asymptomatic, so the lymphatic system has some abnormal flow, but no real fluid buildup in a tissue that you necessarily see.

Might be just slight swelling.

In stage two, you see swelling due to accumulation of the lymph fluid, and that may subside if you elevate that limb.

So if you're getting some swelling of the ankles, for instance, you put your legs up and it disappears after, you know, putting your legs up for, you know, 20 or 30 minutes, then it's so-called stage two

Stage three and four are where you get a more permanent swelling.

So an accumulation of fluid and waste products in that interstitial space, that extracellular space.

And that's when things start to become problematic because that buildup of fluid and waste products leads to a local immune response, which then causes thickening of the tissue above it, which then makes it even harder to clear out waste products.

And the whole thing starts to cascade.

And this is a particular problem again, for people being treated for cancers where the lymphatic

or the lymph nodes are intentionally destroyed.