The Lympha Press Podcast

Oh, the places you will go with lymphedema and lipedema! Karen Ashforth, MS, OTR, CLT-LANA , and a panel of expert patient travelers ( Amy Rivera , Catherine Rosenberg , Angela Jones , and Alexa Ercolano ) discuss the ins and outs of preparing to travel, what to pack to manage swelling, how to navigate TSA/customs, and so much more. Watch more webinars from our  Lympha Press Education Series on Yo...

"Perfectionism is the enemy of good." This was just one of the powerful takeaways from the March Lipedema Patient Roundtable. Special guest Dr. Nicholas Pennings, DO, FOMA, FACO, FP, has devoted his career to studying and treating obesity and lipedema. An expert on one of the hottest related topics, GLP-1 medications, he fielded a host of insightful questions from a curious panel and aud...

Happy Lymphedema Awareness Month! Every month is Lymphedema Awareness Month at the Lymphedema Patient Roundtable, but even more so in March. What does "lymphedema awareness" mean to you? And what about the butterfly, the symbol for lymphedema? The panel and attendees spent the hour engaged in inspiring conversation, along with a robust Q&A session on topics like compression garments,...

John Chuback, MD, FACS, discusses the cardiovascular system, particularly how the heart is central to the magnificent anatomical and physiological network of arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels. During this conversation with Lympha Press President Eric Ansart and host Brenda Viola, Dr. Chuback talks about the heart’s normal function and how it is related to circulation. He considers and discuss...

Love is always in the air at the Lipedema Patient Roundtable, but the feeling was palpable as the group shared what community means to them in this “Galentines” episode. With representatives from the Lipedema Foundation and Fat Disorders Resource Society (FDRS) welcomed as guests, questions and answers abounded. New materials intended for patients to bring to their medical team were unveiled by th...

From navigating relationships with lymphedema to the way loved ones support us in our lymphedema lives, to how we show ourselves and our lymphedema some love (even when it’s difficult to do so) – the Lymphedema Patient Roundtable had a lot to discuss this Valentine's Day Eve. "If you don't communicate with yourself [about your condition], and you can't accept it for yourself, how...

Compression, compression, compression! The main flow of conversation revolved around this all-important component of lipedema (and lymphedema) management.  Cara Cruz ’s own certified lymphedema therapist,  Megan Glod , joined the panel as a special guest to answer questions and offer guidance on everything from skincare and finding a good lymphedema therapist, to best practices when choosing day a...

Happy New Year! The Lymphedema Patient Roundtable kicked off 2024 with a robust conversation around lymphedema management, including complete decongestive therapy, wraps and bandages, and  pneumatic compression pumps . A few folks in the chat even chimed in to say they were tuning in while  using their Lympha Press  — talk about multitasking! The hot topic of the evening was  the Lymphedema Treatm...

The spirit of the season was evident at the December Lipedema Patient Roundtable, and the gifts of encouragement and insight were plentiful. Two special guests made the hour extra special: ⁠Lympha Press Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Herbst⁠ fielded a host of questions, from hormones and hair loss to prescriptions and pumping, while Sonya Louise, a coach who helps women with chronic illness navig...

Merry Lymphmas from the December Lymphedema Patient Roundtable! The holidays can sometimes be a difficult time, not just in  managing our lymphedema  but navigating the mental or emotional pangs of the season as well. The panel talked about some ways they handle these challenges, with attendees chiming in to share their own holly jolly tips. From vibration plates, massage guns, and infrared blanke...

Can you imagine not being able to go to the dentist because the patient chair is unsuitable for anyone over 300 pounds? Or having an aversion to calling an ambulance because you feel it’s too embarrassing to be placed on the gurney? The challenges of lipedema are far from just physical. The emotional anguish associated with everyday life takes a mental toll. For women judged by their size and taun...

The Lymphedema Patient Roundtable was bursting with “lymphatic gratitude” this month as the regular panel was joined by special guest Jasmine Zheng, MD, CLT, FAAPMR, from Penn Medicine! What are central lymphatic issues? How might they present? What is the treatment? Dr. Zheng answered these questions and more, with Catherine Rosenberg providing helpful context from the patient’s perspective. Othe...

It was a boo-tiful night to talk about lipedema , especially since Linda Anne Kahn had recently returned from the Lipedema World Congress in Germany, filled with insights and emerging research to share! Special guest Dr. Molly Sleigh also joined the panel with takeaways from her time at the National Lymphedema Network Conference in Philadelphia. Cara Cruz shared the mind-bending “lipedema math” th...

With it being Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Roundtable falling on both World Mental Health Day and World Metabolic Health Day, there was much to discuss at the October Lymphedema Patient Roundtable! To top it off, a number of our panelists just returned from the National Lymphedema Network Conference in Philadelphia and were eager to share insights and lessons learned from their time there...

Named the President of  the Save a Leg, Save a Life Foundation  (SALSAL) in 2022, Frank Aviles is passionate about the early diagnosis and treatment of wounds: “People don’t realize that they should treat a wound just as they would a cancer diagnosis. They need to go directly to someone who specializes in wound care.” The non-profit’s 14-member board is comprised of “the brightest minds in wound c...

September is Pain Awareness Month, and the anchors and attendees of the Lipedema Patient Roundtable know all too well the aching associated with their condition. The remarkable improvements Cara Cruz has achieved through surgery and the many patients who have found relief through using the Lympha Press Optimal Plus encouraged all in attendance. The medical expertise of special guest Noah Danesh, M...

Class is officially in session at the September Lymphedema Patient Roundtable, and the syllabus covered everything from finding a support system and staying encouraged while managing lymphedema, to an interesting conversation on the Perrin Technique , an osteopathic approach that manually stimulates the fluid motion around the brain and spinal cord. The 2023 National Lymphedema Network Conference...

Driven by curiosity her entire life, Karen Herbst was fascinated with the idea of fat since childhood: Where does it come from? How could some people live on a diet of fruits and vegetables and yet have disproportionate fat deposits? Her academic life and subsequent degrees were fueled by her quest for knowledge and inspired by mentors who encouraged her to ask questions, research the answers, and...

This episode of the Lipedema Patient Roundtable was as hot as the month of August! Our anchor panelists have made waves since we last gathered: The Lippy Butterfly, Angelique Charles, discussed the amazing article she authored about lipedema on HuffPost.com that is bringing widespread validation to many whose doctors told them to “just lose weight.” Pale Ginger Pear shared her surprise that she’s...

The panelists changed things up at the August Lymphedema Patient Roundtable by introducing a new format featuring a panelist chat and a Q&A open forum followed by the first-ever “Lymphedema Patient Roundtable Call-in Show”! Did you know we have 600-700 lymph nodes in our body, the majority of which are in our gut? Certified lymphedema therapist  Karen Ashforth  led a fascinating conversation o...

This interview was recorded in June 2021. "I was so grateful to learn that there was such a thing as lipedema." At one point, Francine Schwartz was 425 pounds. Doctor after doctor just told her to "lose the weight." Peri-menopause exacerbated her condition and she says, "I was heading toward a wheelchair." A former dresser on Broadway, she spent her career looking aft...

Two new hashtags were birthed following the July Lipedema Patient Roundtable's riveting discussion: #DoTheThing and #WearTheThing were shared by Pattie Cornute and Pale Ginger Pear. The message? Don't talk yourself out of trying something new for fear of what other people will think. Pattie's Lipedema Fitness group just celebrated its 10th anniversary! And the panelists also helped Bre...

It’s summertime and a lot of people are going on vacation, but as we all know: lymphedema does not take a break. Whether going down the shore or traveling across the globe, the panelists and attendees at the July Lymphedema Patient Roundtable shared some great tips for managing lymphedema away from home. From compression garments and bandages to tips on how to find a certified lymphedema therapist...

“I was headed for a wheelchair.” So began Catherine Seo’s lipedema journey at perimenopause. A surgical procedure left her with lymphedema and emotional distress: “I cried and cried and asked so many questions my surgeon ‘fired’ me.” A researcher and communicator, Seo devoured Michael and Ethel Földi’s “Textbook of Lymphology” on the lymphatic system and found a chapter on lipedema that changed he...

With thirty-six episodes in the vault, the Lipedema Patient Roundtable celebrated its third anniversary with some trips down memory lane. A special guest in honor of Lipedema Awareness Month was Paula Donahue, PT, DPT, MBA, CLT-LANA , one of the authors of the Standard of Care for Lipedema in the United States . She fielded a host of questions about active and passive compression, heat or burning/...