To Your Health: IBC

If you’re like most women, you probably haven’t. It's a form of breast cancer that strikes without warning. Most women who get it, never find a lump in their breast. And many doctors don't catch it either. Approximately 10,000 women this year will be attacked by this form of cancer that many didn't even know existed. IBC is a very aggressive and deadly breast cancer. While only 6% of all breast cancer are IBC, 25% of the deaths of breast cancer are IBC. African Americans have a higher incidence of IBC than do Caucasians and other ethnic groups: 10.1%, 6.2%, and 5.1%, respectively. (Source, http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/reprint/8/2/141.pdf)

IBC is hard to detect because there is no lump in the breast. So even women who go to the doctor each year, and who administer self breast exams every month, may still harbor this type of cancer.

Breast cancer specialist Dr. Julie Gralow says by the time IBC reveals itself in the breast, it's already traveled through the body. That's what makes it so deadly. Dr. Gralow says IBC is a silent killer; most people haven't heard of it, because it's rare. It's not something most women know about. It's not something most primary care physicians think about," says Dr. Gralow.

IBC cases are often misdiagnosed as a breast infection. Their symptoms are similar. Some women complain of an incessantly itchy breast. Many women report having thought their initial symptoms were the result of a bug bite. As the cancer progresses, some IBC breasts begin to look like, "a red border, the bulk of the breast is very red, swollen and it has what we call an orange peel look. The breast will feel very warm to the touch," says Gralow. *Typical indicators of IBC may include one or a multiple of the following symptoms:

w	Swelling, usually sudden, sometimes a cup size in a few days

Itching

w	Pink, red, or dark colored area (called erythema) sometimes with texture similar to the skin of an orange (called peau d'orange)

w	Ridges and thickened areas of the skin

w	What appears to be a bruise that does not go away

w	Nipple retraction

w	Nipple discharge, may or may not be bloody

w	Breast is warm to the touch

w	Breast pain (from a constant ache to stabbing pains)

w	Change in color and texture of the areola

*These symptoms may be present in benign breast disorders. See your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.
(Source, IBC Research Foundation)

IBC is hard to detect. Since it is rarely found on a mammogram or self breast exam, Dr. Gralow recommends an MRI and biopsy as the best methods to detect the cancer. "It's appropriate to know your body, stay in tune, get mammograms, but none of that is perfect," said Dr. Gralow. Often by the time IBC is diagnosed, it's either stage 3 or stage 4. Because IBC attacks the breast and the body, patients have to have chemotherapy first, then surgery. The best advice is to know your body and know the symptoms of IBC.

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