Jo Ann, It sounds like you have lymphedema in your arm. Has your arm ever swelled and felt tight like you have a lot of water in it or it feels swollen? I am assuming you had breast cancer. Did you have lymph nodes taken out and if so how many? I am trying to give you a little help here since it is the weekend and I know you can't contact your dr. Do you have a compression sleeve to wear to help with swelling? You are so many years from diagnosis that they probably didn't know much about lymphedema then. You should go online and look up lymphedema so you can educate yourself about the condidtion. I don't have it but I only had 2 lymph nodes removed. Still if I fly I have to wear a compression sleeve and I was told never to lift more than 10 lbs. with my arm, try to avoid cuts, bruises, scratches etc. Also to wear garden gloves. It's the whole nine yards. My cousin has lymphedema in her arm. She is over 10 yrs. from her cancer and no one told her about lymphedema and she flew a lot for her job and that is why she got it. She does special massaging of her arm and wraps it with an ace bandage tightly at night to help with the swelling. I don't know where you live but if you are near a teaching hospital or live in a big city you can probably find a lymphedema specialist. That is a dr. trained to tell you all about it and how to handle the condition. I wish you the best of luck and post if you have other questions. I will be happy to answer you.
Take care,
Aurora