INFLAMMATORY BREAST CANCER (IBC)

A Different Kind of Breast Cancer.
We have been taught and are reminded frequently by public service announcements and by the medical community that when a woman discovers a lump on her breast she should go to the doctor immediately. Inflammatory breast cancer usually grows in nests or sheets, rather than as a confined, solid tumor and therefore can be diffuse throughout the breast with no palpable mass. The cancer cells clog the lymphatic system just below the skin. Lymph node involvement is assumed. Increased breast density compared to prior mammograms should be considered suspicious.

However, You Don't Have to Have a Lump to Have Breast Cancer. Some women who have inflammatory breast cancer may remain undiagnosed for long periods, even while seeing their doctor to learn the cause of her symptoms. The symptoms are similar to mastitis, a breast infection and some doctors, not recognizing IBC, will prescribe antibiotics. If a response to antibiotics is not apparent after a week, a biopsy should be performed or a referral to a breast specialist is warranted.

IBC Does Not Descriminate By Age.
A surprising portion women diagnosed with IBC are as young as in their teens. A large portion of young women with IBC had their first symptoms during pregnancy or lactation. The misconception that these young women are at lower risk for breast cancer and the fact that IBC is the most aggressive form of breast cancer may result in metastases by the time the diagnosis is made.

One or more of the following are Typical Symptoms of IBC:

• Swelling, usually sudden. Sometimes a cup size in a few days.
• An inverted nipple (nipple retraction), or sometimes an enlarged nipple.
• Pink, red or dark colored area (called erythema) sometimes with texture similiar to the skin of an orange.
• Ridges and thickened areas of the skin.
• What appears to be a bruise that doesn't go away.
• Nipple discharge, may or may not be bloody.
• Breast is warm to the touch.
• Breast pain (from a constant ache to stabbing pains)
• Change in color and texture of the areola (nipple area)

Don't let any symptom go unchecked. Some women's symptoms were dismissed as bug bites and they were given hydrocortisone cream while the cancer grew at alarming rates. The sad thing is many, many physicians have never heard of IBC.

To find out more about Inflammatory Breast Cancer, visit the following sites:

www.ibcresearch.org

www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/IBC

www.ibchelp.org

www.ibcsupport.org

www.komotv.com/ibc - you will be able to view a video about IBC