Lymphedema Awareness & Support

Living with a lymphatic disorder can be overwhelming. Conditions like lymphedema, lipedema, and other lymphatic anomalies are often misunderstood or misdiagnosed—even by healthcare professionals. All too often, these issues are mistaken for obesity, and patients are told to simply lose weight instead of being referred to the specialized care they truly need. This can leave you feeling hopeless and alone. 

But arming yourself with information and building a support network are important steps you can take to developing a strategy for living successfully with lymphatic disorders.  The Lymphedema Education & Research Network (LE&RN) and the Lymphedema Awareness and Support Network of Alabama (LASNA) are two resources that can help. 

Lymphedema Awareness and Support Network of Alabama (LASNA)

We are a group of people who deal with lymphedema, lipedema and other lymphatic disorders.  Some of us have it. Some of us treat it.  And some of us care for people with it.  We come together to learn more about lymphatic disorders, to share our stories, and to support each other. 

Lymphedema Education & Research Network (LE&RN)

LE&RN is an internationally recognized non-profit organization that fights lymphatic disease (LD) through education, research, and advocacy. LE&RN is committed to investigating preventive and therapeutic benefits for a broad array of diseases that are impacted by lymphatic function, such as heart disease, obesity, AIDS, Rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and cancer metastasis.  LE&RN does so by:

• Maintaining an international Patient Registry and biorepository
• Providing a directory of Clinical Trials and Studies
• Credentialling Centers of Excellence to ensure standard of care
• Hosting live-stream symposiums, publishing the peer-reviewed journal Lymphatic Research & Biology and sending weekly e-newsletters
• Maintaining a website with features such as Ask the Experts that connects patients with the field’s more renowned practitioners
• Providing scholarship grants to lymphedema therapists and funding conference travel awards to young researchers
• Establishing local Support Chapters

September 2025 LE&RN Chapter Meeting

Topic:  Updates on Lipedema – Diagnostics, Screenings, & Related Topics

Speaker:  Melissa Flowers, COTA/L, CLT 

Lipedema is frequently misunderstood both in the medical community and in general.  It is mistaken for obesity or lymphedema, and although people with lipedema can have these conditions as well, getting treatment for the underlying condition can be very difficult.  For our September LASNA meeting, Melissa Flowers, COTA/L, CLT will share the latest updates from the 2025 Fat Disorders Resource Society Conference.

December 3, 2024 LE&RN Chapter Meeting

Topic:  Men’s Health and Lymphatic Disorders

Speakers:  John Waples, MD and Darin Gregg, COTA

1 CEU available for Nurses, Social Workers, OTs & PTs 

Join us for our December LE&RN Chapter Meeting to hear Dr. John Waples and Darin Gregg present on Men’s Health and Lymphatic Disorders.  They will outline:

• The prevalence of and risk factors for men’s health issues such as DVT, CVI, and prostate, colorectal, breast and other cancers
• The barriers to diagnosis and treatment of men’s health issues 
• The importance of early identification and therapy intervention
• Effective therapy modalities

September 2024 Lymphedema Awareness & Support MeetUp

Topic:  Latest Research on Lipedema – Diagnostics, Screenings, & Related Topics

Speaker:  Melissa Flowers, COTA/L, CLT 

Lipedema is frequently misunderstood both in the medical community and in general.  It is mistaken for obesity or lymphedema, and although people with lipedema can have these conditions as well, getting treatment for the underlying condition can be very difficult.  For our September LASNA meeting, Melissa Flowers, COTA/L, CLT will share the latest updates from the 2024 Fat Disorders Resource Society Conference.

June 2024 Lymphedema Awareness & Support MeetUp

Our June LASNA meeting will feature segments from the video series Living With Chronic Wounds.  In this documentary, patients and healthcare professionals share their experiences with caring for and treating common types of non-healing wounds. By telling about the challenges and strategies for living with chronic wounds, they give encouragement and hope to others living with this condition.  The project was produced by the European Wound Management Association (EWMA) whose goal is to work with different national or international organizations to increase data collection and evidence, implement knowledge and develop education around wound management.