In the United States, Kathy Bates is a well-known and recognizable name. The actress, who has enjoyed theater and screen success, had her breakthrough in the dramatic psychological thriller Misery, for which she received an Academy Award nomination. Away from the camera, the celebrity has a troubled medical background.

The actress is most known for her work in the ninth season of Two and a Half Men and the NBC sitcom Harry’s Law. She has already won two Golden Globes and two Primetime Emmys. In contrast, Bates was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003.

She endured a hysterectomy (the surgical removal of the womb) and nine rounds of chemotherapy due to her battle with the disease. Bates was diagnosed with breast cancer two years after recovering from the illness in 2012.

With a strong family history of breast cancer and the discovery that both her mother and aunt had the disease, the actress chose to have a double mastectomy, which involves removing both breasts.

“When the doctor told me I had a tumor in my left breast, I said, ‘Make it a double,’” I explained. Remove them both. “I wasn’t going to take any chances,” she previously told Practical Pain Management.

“Breast cancer runs through my family like a river. As a result, my aunt, mother, and niece all died.

Despite testing negative for the BRCA breast cancer gene, the actress bravely underwent surgery to reduce her chances of cancer reoccurring. She managed her sickness gracefully.

The American Horror Story actress battled two types of cancer and lost her uterus and breasts as a result, but her struggles did not end there because she got lymphedema.

According to SurvivorNet, lymphedema is a disorder that causes swelling in the arm and hand due to an accumulation of extra lymph fluid, a clear fluid that circulates through the lymphatic system and aids in the body’s defense against sickness and infection.

“Then I got lymphedema,” Bates explained on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2019.

“I’m not sure you’ve heard, but lymph nodes are removed to treat cancer. Fluid frequently builds in the affected leg when your lymph system is compromised.

Bates said she was irritated when she discovered she had lymphedema while recovering from breast surgery.

“As soon as I woke up, I felt a peculiar sensation in my left arm, almost like a tingling,” she told SurvivorNet.

“I lost my mind. I raced out of the examination room and out the front door. What exactly am I up to? I wondered as I hugged a pillow to my chest while still wearing my drains. I’m standing outside in July; it’s hot, I’m still recovering, and I don’t want to injure anyone.

“I was furious beyond belief. It probably resulted from having battled cancer twice and knowing that this affliction would always be with me.”

“I was irritable and depressed. I assumed that my professional career was over and that everything had been completed.

The NHS warns that lymphoedema should be treated as soon as possible to prevent it from worsening.

It is estimated that 10 million people in the United States are affected. “That is greater than ALS, MS, Parkinson’s, muscular dystrophy, and AIDS combined.

Nobody knows about it, and if we’re big ladies and go to the doctor with swollen legs, they tell us to “just go eat a salad,” she continued.

It worsens, it is incurable, and it progresses. There are around 50,000 people who have grown up with congenital infections; they can put you in the hospital.

The NHS continues to emphasize that the principal symptoms of lymphoedema can be controlled by applying methods that restrict fluid accumulation.