Inflammatory breast cancer is one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer and is widely unknown to most people. One of the dangers of IBC is that the normal testing for detection does not necessarily work. The cancer cells grow in sheets or cancer nests, in the breasts and do not always produce lumps, so mammograms generally don’t find anything. The actual symptoms are often diagnosed incorrectly. Symptoms include, but are not limited to: inflated breasts, inverted nipples, redness, skin hot to the touch, persistent itching, an orange peel texture to the breast and thickening of breast tissue. Because of IBC’s rarity and obscurity, doctors may misdiagnose the problem and, because of the speed with which it spreads, it can be very dangerous.
Unlike traditional conceptions of breast cancer, this type can strike at a young age. Andi Collins, a 16-year-old, recently died from IBC, according to Komonews.com. She began noticing changes in her breasts, but she was too embarrassed to say anything. By the time the cause was discovered, it was too late 8212; it took her life shortly thereafter. Marilyn Willingham was diagnosed as having bug bites, and by the time her doctor did a biopsy and found the cancer she was already in stage IV, the highest stage of cancer progression. These two tragic examples could have possibly been prevented with an awareness of the disease beforehand.
Inflammatory breast cancer is one of the most common types of breast cancer found in young women. African-American women have been found to have a slightly higher risk. IBC accounts for about 10 percent of all breast cancer cases in black women, 6 percent of all new breast cancer in white women and 5 percent in all other women, according to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization. It has also been found at a high rate in women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
Although IBC is rare, the survival rate is also lower than any other form of breast cancer. There is only between a 25 and 50 percent chance of surviving past the first five years. Because of the cancer’s aggressive nature, it can spread quickly into other parts of the body before there is a correct diagnosis. The best way to detect IBC is through a biopsy or ultrasound. Once detected, doctors will treat the disease with chemotherapy, targeted therapy, surgery, radiation therapy and hormonal therapy.
The lack of awareness makes this silent killing disease so dangerous. Women must understand the symptoms of IBC so they don’t mistake it as a less serious medical condition. IBC can be deadly if not dealt with as quickly as possible.
As one mother who lost her daughter to IBC said, “Ignorance is causing death.”
