I wasn't given any patient education materials about sentinel node removal and the consequences. I was only given a checklist of signs of post-surgical infection. It would have been helpful to know that it's normal to experience some numbness, tingling, odd sensations in the upper arm and swelling. I ended up having to do my own research to find out if my symptoms were normal. The most helpful document I found was a booklet from the UK's healthcare system that includes exercises and advice following sentinel node surgery.
I'm very grateful that my healthcare system is focused on performing excellent procedures and I have the utmost confidence in my surgeon. On the other hand, patient education is definitely an area of need in our medical system.
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