Have You Heard of Inflammatory Breast Cancer?

I hadn't, until I received an e-mail from someone alerting me to a series of stories on Seattle's KOMO TV.


Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but extremely aggressive form of breast cancer. Symptoms may include redness, swelling, and warmth in the breast, often without a distinct lump in the breast. Because IBC is more likely to have metastasized than other forms of breast cancer, the 5-year survival rate for IBC patients is between 25 and 50 percent, which is significantly lower than the survival rate for patients with non-IBC breast cancer.

Throughout the 1990s, the incidence of IBC, which primarily affects premenopausal women, increased in both black women and white women. However, the incidence of IBC is higher among black women. Because IBC does not cause a lump in the breast, it may be misdiagnosed as an infection, leading to delays in treatment.

Please share this information with every woman you know and love!!

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