Inflammatory breast cancer is uncommon and has several peculiar warning symptoms that many people are unaware of.
The symptoms were given by experts at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, increasing awareness of this aggressive and lethal kind of breast cancer.
The symptoms are comparable to a breast infection. They include an orange peel-like texture or dimpling of the skin, a sense of heaviness, skin tightness, breast engorgement, and infection-like redness.
“Breast self-exams are still extremely essential, and women should be aware that severe changes to the breast are not typical. Half of all inflammatory breast cancers are identified at stage 4 “Dr. Ko Un Park, a surgical oncologist who directs the center’s new Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, agreed. “It is critical for women to detect changes in the look and feel of their breasts so that alterations may be addressed with a physician as soon as possible.”
Inflammatory breast cancer can occur in any part of the breast. It can even be confusing for doctors who typically don’t think of a red breast as signaling cancer.
“Although inflammatory breast cancer only represents 1% to 5% of all breast cancers in the United States, it is a sneaky disease and challenging to diagnose,” Park said in a cancer center news release. “It is critical that clinicians have a high level of familiarity with its subtle signs and be prepared to take immediate action to avoid belated diagnosis.”
Park and breast radiologist Dr. Amy Kerger are helping lead a team that will triage and rapidly respond to potential inflammatory breast cancer cases. The team is also working with primary care doctors and obstetricians/gynecologists to bring more awareness to this particular form of breast cancer.
“Our goal is to push these patients to the front of the line, rapidly mobilizing a treatment plan so that therapy can begin as soon as possible,” Park said.
Ohio State also surveyed 1,100 U.S. women ages 18 and up to find out what women know about cancer. While 78% of respondents recognized a lump as a sign of breast cancer, only about 44% thought of redness as a symptom, the same percentage who would flag pitting or thickening of the skin as a warning sign. About 34% were aware that one breast feeling warmer or heavier than the other could be a sign.
The survey was conducted online Sept. 22 to 26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
