4/209 Oxford Street
Bondi Junction 2022
T (03) 9751 0070
E admin@lara.org.au
PO Box 636 Bondi Junction NSW 1355
Australia
A rare and progressive lung disease, LAM, or lymphangioleiomyomatosis, usually attacks women in their childbearing years, with a variety of manifestations.
The first sign of LAM is often breathlessness. This may be accompanied by chest pain, lung collapse, or coughing up blood. Women with LAM may be unaware of changes to their lungs, but have angiomyolipomas (AMLs). These so-called "benign" tumours on the kidneys affect 40% of women with LAM and are asymptomatic unless they burst. Some women develop benign tumours within their abdomen (lymphangioleiomyomas), enlarged lymph nodes, and free fluid within the abdominal cavity (chylous ascites).