Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Why You Need to Know the Signs of This Deadly Disease
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It’s one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, but most women have never heard about it. Inflammatory breast cancer or IBC, is a silent killer because unlike many other cancers, patients often don’t recognize the symptoms.
According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 200,000 new cases of inflammatory breast cancer will be diagnosed this year and more than 40,000 people will die from the disease. Though it occurs in both men and women, it is largely a disease that affects women.
“Inflammatory breast cancer accounts for one-to-five-percent of all breast cancers diagnosed and because it is uncommon, you don’t necessarily jump to that as a first diagnosis,” says Beth Overmoyer, MD, an IBC expert at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “In traditional breast cancers, a patient can feel a lump or we can see a mass on a mammogram. Inflammatory breast cancer is often not a lump or mass, but a rash or bruise and can be misdiagnosed as an infection.”
In spite of its name, inflammatory breast cancer isn’t caused by inflammation, even though it displays the same symptoms. Health experts say IBC may look like it’s caused by an infection or injury, but it’s actually the result of cancer cells blocking lymph vessels in the skin.
The most common symptoms of IBC include redness, warmth and swelling; skin that appears discolored or dimpled like an orange peel and itching and pain in the breast. While there are no specific risk factors, the American Cancer Society reports IBC occurs more in younger women and African-American women appear to be at higher risk than white women. The average age at diagnosis is 58—about three to seven years younger than the average age of a woman diagnosed with other forms of breast cancer.
Forty-five year old Yvette Hudgins has inflammatory breast cancer. She was diagnosed after noticing one of her breasts was suddenly larger than the other. “I just thought it was inflammation. I would never, ever have thought in a million years it was breast cancer,” says Hudgins. “I thought at first, maybe it’s just a little change but then it just progressed so I made an appointment with my doctor.”
IBC is diagnosed with a biopsy. Doctors remove a sample of breast tissue and look at it under a microscope. If IBC is diagnosed, doctors will determine the cancer’s stage, or how advanced it is. Treatment for IBC usually starts with chemotherapy, followed by surgery if the cancer hasn’t spread. In most cases, radiation is then used to help slow the disease.
In recent years, treatment for inflammatory breast cancer has improved, but it is a very aggressive cancer and usually has a worse prognosis than other forms of the disease. Studies show the five-year survival rate for inflammatory breast cancer is between 25 and 50 percent, compared with 87 percent for all breast cancers.
“This type of cancer is so dangerous because it moves through the lymphatic vessels of the body, which are basically the roads that lead out of the breasts to the rest of the body,” says Overmoyer. She cautions that women who have noticed any changes in their breasts to contact their physicians immediately.
“Reassurance never hurt anybody.”
Despite months of treatment, including chemotherapy and surgery, Hudgins believes she is one of the lucky ones. Her doctor says her health is good. “I caught it early so I feel like someone is watching over me,” says Hudgins. “With three kids and five grandchildren, I plan on being around to watch them grow for a long time to come.”
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (http://www.dana-farber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
Source: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
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