- Though rare, Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is an unusually aggressive and lethal form of breast cancer
- It develops in weeks to months, rather than months to years
- It occurs in up to 5 percent of all breast cancer cases, but appears to be rising, now nearing 8 percent of all cases. There will be 180,000 breast cancer cases this year in the United States.
- It has a five-year survival rate of 40 percent, compared with 65 percent for large-tumor classic breast cancer and 95 percent for early-stage classic breast cancer.
Symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer
The symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer are dramatically different from classic breast cancer. There is no tumor, no lump, nothing that can be detected on a mammogram. These are the signs you may have IBC:
- Swelling and thickening of the breast
- Redness, rash or blotchiness affecting much of the breast
- Persistent itching of breast or nipple
- Dimpling - or “orange peel” - appearance of breast skin
- Flattened or inverted nipple, nipple discharge
- Pain and soreness
- Skin warm to the touch
- Enlarged lymph nodes under the arm
Sources: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society.
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