1.What’s it: Inflammatory breast cancer is one of the types of breast cancer. Which spreads rapidly. Breast becomes red and swollen during this breast cancer. Generally, cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of breast in this cancer. This is rare type of breast cancer. Most of the inflammatory breast cancer are invasive ductal carcinoma, this simply means the origin of cancer or development of cancer has started at milk carrying ducts in breast. Inflammatory breast cancer progress very rapidly. You need to know what is breast cancer and history of breast cancer before this.
2.Stats:
Inflammatory breast cancer accounts for 1%-5% of all breast cancer diagnosed in United States This cancer requires medical diagnosis. This is more common in younger age women and is more diagnosed at younger ages in black skin women’s then in white skin women. IBC is more common in overweight or obese women. It spreads faster than other common types of breast cancer. In one third of cases IBC has already spread to other body parts at time of diagnosis. And mostly entered into 4th stage.
3.Symptoms:
Breast swelling
Breast can appear red, pink, reddish purple.
Sometimes it has solid tumors but most of time tumors can’t be felt with physical exam.
Rapid increase in breast size
Patient starts getting a sensation of heavy breasts
Sensation of burning
Retracted or inverted nipple.
4.Diagnosis:
This cancer is difficult to diagnose. There is very less chance of diagnosing the lump at time of physical exam or mammogram screening. But few symptoms have been published by international panel of experts. Very rapidly growing red skin on breast which should cover one third of breast, with swelling
Skin can appear like orange peel, rigid or pitted skin
You can feel warmth at breast
Lump can be felt or can’t be felt, it depends. In some cases, feeling of one breast is heavier than other. Or one is warmer than other. These all symptoms should be present for 6 months at least. Then you should immediately go for consultation with doctor.
5.Treatment:
Currently the multimodal approach of treatment is being used. Because it has shown better results and longer survival. Multimodal treatment starts with systematic chemotherapy (helps to shrink the tumor) then surgery ( to remove tumor) and then followed by radiation therapy. In specific way it’s mentioned below.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Targeted therapy
Hormone therapy
Surgery
Radiation therapy
6.Survival:
It depends on diagnosis of your cancer. If it’s already stage 4 in which the cancer has spread to other part of body, then it’s very difficult to control it.
READ MORE BREAST CANCER ARTICLES
