Lifestyle Health Kathy Bates' 60-Lb. Weight Loss 'Really Helped' with Her Post-Cancer Lymphedema The actress was honored as a WebMD Health Hero for speaking out about the condition By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 31, 2019 11:48AM EST Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Kathy Bates’ health problems didn’t end after her breast cancer went into remission. Soon after completing her treatment, the actress developed lymphedema, a common “souvenir” after lymph node surgery but one that often goes undiscussed. “I was terrified of getting it,” Bates, 70, told PEOPLE at the WebMD Health Heroes event earlier this month. The American Horror Story star said that lymphedema, the swelling of arms or legs because of a blockage in the lymphatic system, affects more than just cancer patients, but it doesn’t get much attention. “It affects more people than ALS, MS, AIDS and Parkinson’s combined. Ten million Americans. But people just don’t know about it,” she says. Part of the problem, Bates says, is that doctors see the swollen limbs and assume that people are just overweight, not dealing with a painful medical condition. “Some doctors think it’s cosmetic and not life-threatening,” she says. “Doctors spend 15 to 30 minutes on the entire lymphatic system in medical school, so if someone goes to their general practitioner with swollen limbs, pain and heaviness the doctor will have no idea what it is. So it goes undiagnosed and the disease progresses for years and gets worse and worse.” Bates worked with LE&RN, the Lymphatic Education & Research Network, to find a doctor who understood the condition. Kathy Bates. Tommaso Boddi/WireImage; Theo Wargo/Getty “I’m feeling great,” she says. “I’ve lost a lot of weight and it’s really helped with my symptoms. I just still have to wear compression sleeves or guard against nicks and bug bites because that can lead to sepsis.” But Bates knows that not all lymphedema sufferers are as lucky to have that support, so she became the national spokesperson for LE&RN to spread the word. She was honored at the WebMD event as the 2019 “Game Changer” for her work. “When I heard those figures I got involved,” she says. “I got very pissed off because it was unfair. I’ve been asked to lend my name to a cause [before] and I’ve made it my policy not to do that, but this is the first one I’ve felt strongly about.” RELATED VIDEO: Elizabeth Hurley on Importance of Breast Cancer Awareness: ‘It’s Still Very Fresh to Everyone’ And beyond supporting the cause, Bates says that for both lymphedema and cancer, the best thing people can do for friends or family who are dealing with the conditions is to stick by them. “I think going through breast and ovarian cancer you feel like you’re a burden,” she says. “I’ve lost friends because some friends want to help but don’t realize it’s a long process. So they sort of drop out. It’s a problem. I think families try to do the best they can but it’s very difficult to help.”