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After surgery, breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a frequent chronic condition. The complex decongestive therapy (CDT) delivered by physiotherapists at hospitals is the state-of-the-art treatment choice. As lymphedema requires continuous management, we designed a 1-month-long course to train women to professionally carry out a self-administered CDT (saCDT) and tested its efficacy while keeping the benefits of CDT.

Consecutive patients treated with CDT over a 1-year period at an Italian facility were randomly assigned to either experimental (EXP, saCDT course) or control (CTRL, usual care) group. Women were assessed before, at 1, and 6 months from enrolment. Pain assessed by the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) was the primary outcome. Arm asymmetry assessed by the excess limb volume (ELV) was the …