림프부종의 자가관리 교육을 통한 환자 삶의 지지

Lymphedema is a chronic disease that requires lifelong treatment and self-care. Not only is the treatment process for lymphedema not easy, but it is also difficult to ensure that the patient is completely cured. A favorable prognosis of lymphedema is more dependent on the patients’ efforts, interests, and high level of adherence than it is for any other disease; thus, it is necessary to find a way to improve these factors. This includes education on the signs and symptoms that would allow early detection of lymphedema, recommendations to increase the adherence to lymphedema treatment, and management of risk factors. The individual situation of patients should also be taken into consideration in order to offer them comprehensive information and management that focuses on not only physical but also psychological and social problems. As such, efforts made by healthcare teams to actively engage in the lymphedema self-care process and empower the patients will contribute to the successful treatment of lymphedema and long-term improvement of patients’ quality of life.