Cam Ayala BIP teams up with Katie Bates to raise awareness of lymphedema

The former reality star and the Oscar winner told PEOPLE about their experience with lymphedema, a condition of swelling caused by blockages in the lymphatic system.

Kam Ayala and Katie Bates are working to raise awareness of the 'debilitating' disease, lymphedema.

Both the former contestant and actress suffer from lymphedema, a chronic, untreated condition that causes fluid to pool in the soft tissues and cause swelling in the arms and legs. Lymphedema can be hereditary (primary) or develop later (secondary) after removing lymph nodes during surgery or as part of cancer treatment.

Ayala, 33, was born with the condition mainly affecting her right leg. After 16 knee surgeries over the past seven years, he is preparing for another "transformation" procedure next week: the amputation of his leg.

Despite the frightening prospect, Ayala was "determined to believe in the face of fear" and turned her lymphedema experience into something positive.

"It's so exciting to talk about all the skeletons and demons in my closet and fight off future grief and loss," she told the news. "I know that planned amputations are very different from sporadic amputations, but I know that there is a bigger picture and a bigger story and a bigger purpose that God has for all of this." Unlike Ayala, Bates later developed lymphedema. 

Although the 73-year-old American Horror Story star said she was "full of anger" when she developed the condition and developed swelling in her hands, she decided to turn her frustration into something positive. She began raising awareness of lymphedema and became the national spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network (LE&RN).

Through a non-profit organization, Ayala Bates was introduced at a conference in 2019, as the two began to bond throughout their journey together.

"We present clinically very differently because I am a male with a primary and a female with a secondary, but we still have the same day-to-day struggles just in terms of what is required of us to deal with chronic." disease," said Ayala.

"When I met [Bates], I felt connected like my sister with lymphedema. She had gone through many of the same trials and tribulations that I had, and we both share the same position and mission: to help as many people with lymphedema as possible.

Bates said, "I know after meeting Kam he has tremendous energy and passion to join this fight."