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Breast Cancer Skin
Inflammatory breast cancer is an accelerated kind of cancer and is not detected by the use of a mammogram or an ultrasound. This form of cancer is rare and occurs in about 1 to 3% of all breast cancer cases. The breasts become swollen and inflamed. The reason that the inflammation occurs is because the cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast area. This causes the lymph flow to be blocked and the skin gets red and inflamed.
inflammatory breast cancer doe not form a lump. The cancer grows as sheets that clog up the lymph system located under the skin. Quite often the symptoms are mistaken for other illnesses and the disease may take a considerable length to diagnose.
One of these symptoms is pain in the breast, and is mistaken for a breast infection and then treated with antibiotics. If the antibiotics do not cure the problem then ask the doctor for a biopsy or to see a specialist. Another symptom is skin changes in the area of the breast with pink or red areas that have the texture and maybe the thickness of an orange. A bruise on the breast that does not want to go away is another symptom. A sudden unexplained swelling of the breast is yet another symptom. If there is itching of the breast and if there is any sign of nipple retraction then these could also be symptoms. In addition if there is swelling of the lymph nodes under the arm or in the neck, then these are all signs and symptoms.
Since the cancer is so often misdiagnosed as another medical condition, it is so important to insist on a breast skin biopsy especially if the medication taken for an infection is not working.
Inflammatory breast cancer is a very aggressive cancer that can spread through out very quickly. One of the treatment options would be surgery if the cancer has not spread beyond the breast. A mastectomy could be an option to remove the tumor. Unfortunately, mastectomy has been said to increase the chance of the cancer reoccurring mainly because the cancer involves the lymph nodes of the skin and the skin has to be stitched together after the surgery.
Chemotherapy is another option that is open for treatment. This option is usually given before surgery and is called neoadjuvant therapy. It is given to reduce the amount of the tumor that is present and to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Another treatment option is high dose chemotherapy or bone marrow transplant. Researches are pursuing the study to see whether giving very high doses of chemo and then following it by bone marrow or stem cell transportation is an effective way of treating inflammatory breast cancer.
High doses of radiation are sometime given after chemo and surgery.
Mainly because of the fact that inflammatory breast cancer is an advanced form of cancer, the prognosis or the predicted outcome is not good. In the past the statistics has shown that the survival rate of inflammatory breast cancer is about 18 months. Never the less some recent studies have shown that the improvements in treatments could help to prolong the survival time for many women who have inflammatory breast cancer. One encouragement has shown that by combining both chemo and a mastectomy and also the radiation then the average five year survival rate is currently up to forty percent. Both doctors and of course their patients are very happy and hopeful in this area with the advancements in treatments and hope that they will continue to greatly improve the prognosis for the women who have been diagnosed with the disease of inflammatory breast cancer.