Inflammatory Breast Cancer Symptoms

Inflammatory breast cancer symptoms are difficult to spot but important to know about

The breast cancer facts on inflammatory breast cancer are important to know about. Inflammatory breast cancer causes only about 1-5 percent of all breast cancer. It is a very severe form of breast cancer in which the breast cancer survival rates are low.

Of the types of breast cancer you can get, inflammatory breast cancer is one of the hardest to get over. It also has different signs of breast cancer than other types of breast cancer. Rather than show up as a lump, the inflammatory breast cancer symptoms don’t often show up as a lump.

If you have inflammatory breast cancer, you often have redness of the breast. The breast can be swollen. The skin of the breast can be very warm. These signs of breast cancer show up very quickly and spread fast.

Breast cancer facts on Inflammatory Breast Cancer

The average age of a white person who gets inflammatory breast cancer is 57 years. The average age for African-American women is 52 years. Both of these are about five years younger than when most women get breast cancer. Men get inflammatory breast cancer, too.

The inflammatory breast cancer symptoms are the same for men as they are for women. Being overweight means that you have a higher risk of having inflammatory breast cancer.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Symptoms

One of the first signs of breast cancer is usually a lump. In inflammatory breast cancer, it is thickening of the skin and outer tissue of the breast. The breast feels very heavy. The skin becomes red and inflamed.

The breast cancer forms in sheets, called nests, in the breast rather than as a lump. There is swelling of the breasts because the breast cancer blocks the lymph flow in the breasts. The breast may be warm. Doctors often initially believe these signs of breast cancer represent a symptom of an infection of the breast.

• The skin of the breast may be dimpled like an orange peel.
• The skin of the breast can look bruised.
• It can also look pink instead of red.
• The lymph nodes by the collar bone or in the armpit can be swollen and red.
• The nipple can become flat or can be inverted.
• You can have aching or burning in the breast and it may feel tender.

If you are older and are diagnosed with an infection of the breast, be persistent and see a breast specialist, especially if antibiotics don’t treat the signs of breast cancer. Breast infections aren’t common in older women who are not breastfeeding.

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Diagnosis and Staging of Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer may or may not be found on mammogram. Sometimes the doctor just needs to do a biopsy of the red and inflamed tissue. This can tell if breast cancer is present. It can tell what types of breast cancer you have, if any.

According to known breast cancer facts, inflammatory breast cancer is usually not found at an early stage. In a third of people with inflammatory breast cancer, the doctors find breast cancer at an advanced stage. After the biopsy, the doctors will check to see if the lymph nodes are involved by doing a biopsy or sampling of the tissue of the lymph nodes.

Other tests tell if the inflammatory breast cancer has spread to other body areas. These include a chest x-ray, a CT scan of the chest, pelvis and abdomen, a bone scan and tests of liver function. If these tests are positive, these are signs of breast cancer that has spread to other body areas.

Staging of Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Depending on inflammatory breast cancer symptoms and the test results, the doctor can tell you the breast cancer stage you have. The stage of the breast cancer tells how bad the breast cancer is. It changes the breast cancer survival rates.

There are no early breast cancer stages in inflammatory breast cancer. Stage IIIB means the lymph nodes of the armpit are involved. The Stage IIIC means that the collar bone lymph nodes are involved. Lymph nodes within the breast can also be involved. Stage IV means that the cancer has spread to other body areas.

Conclusion

Inflammatory breast cancer symptoms are different from other breast cancers. The main symptoms are breast redness and swelling. There is often not a breast lump as there is with other types of breast cancer.

The cancer spreads rapidly to the lymph nodes of the armpit and collar bone. Breast cancer survival rates are worse in inflammatory breast cancer than with other breast cancers. See a doctor as soon as you have the signs of breast cancer that look like inflammatory breast cancer.

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