"I know my mom wanted all her friends, and all women everywhere, to know about the signs and symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer."You may or may not know that there are many types of breast cancer, some more rare than others, and some infinitely harder to detect than others. Self examination and regular mammograms catch many types of breast cancer early, so its important to get checked out. But even if you think you have a minor breast infection, you must insist that your doctor screen you for cancer, because otherwise it may be too late once they finally catch it.
My mother had a rare form of breast cancer called Inflammatory Breast Cancer. It doesn't present itself in the form of a lump, like most people are used to checking for. It can resemble instead just a sore, red breast, much like a common and benign breast infection. The doctor will treat it as an infection and give you antibiotics, maybe some cream, and tell you to just wait and see. After several weeks or months, the "infection" will not go away with treatment, because it is not an infection at all. Only then will the doctor screen for cancer, and by then it might be too late to treat effectively. It's important to be your own voice. You know your body better than anyone else, so if you see anything abnormal about your breast, insist that the doctor run more complete tests to ensure that it is not cancer. Chances are, it really is just a breast infection and it will be easy to treat. But catching cancer early is key to eradicating it from your body- so insist on the test just in case.
When they caught my mom's cancer, it had already spread to stage 4, and was beginning to infect her lymph nodes and other parts of her body. She fought hard for two years, but it was just too aggressive. I know my mom wanted all her friends, and all women everywhere, to know about the signs and symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer. So here is some information for you. (warning: graphic medical image of infected breast below)
Types of Breast Cancer:
Breast cancer can begin in different areas of the breast – the ducts, the lobules, or in some cases, the tissue in between. In this section, you can learn about the different types of breast cancer, including non-invasive, invasive, recurrent, and metastatic breast cancers. You can also read about breast cancer in men.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Symptoms
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Signs and symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include:
When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if you notice any signs or symptoms that worry you.
Make an appointment with your doctor if you notice any signs or symptoms that worry you.
· Rapid change in the appearance of one breast, over the course of days or weeks
· Thickness, heaviness or visible enlargement of one breast
· Discoloration, giving the breast a red, purple, pink or bruised appearance
· Unusual warmth of the affected breast
· Dimpling or ridges on the skin of the affected breast, similar to an orange peel
· Itching
· Tenderness, pain or aching
· Enlarged lymph nodes under the arm, above the collarbone or below the collarbone
· Flattening or turning inward of the nipple
· Inflammatory breast cancer doesn't commonly form a lump, as occurs with other forms of breast cancer.
Other more common conditions have signs and symptoms resembling those of inflammatory breast cancer. A breast injury or breast infection (mastitis) may cause redness, swelling and pain.
Sources:
http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/inflammatory-breast-cancer/DS00632/DSECTION=symptoms
http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/inflammatory-breast-cancer/DS00632/DSECTION=symptoms
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