Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

I never really post much about health but I think this is really important. If you are like most women you have probably never heard of this disease. My sister sent me a file to a newscast on this but I do not know how to attach to the blog so instead I will point you to this website on it.

You can also google the name for other sites. In the newscast they were saying that most women go to their physician and its diagnosed as just a bug bite, since there is swelling and redness. They prescribe antibiotics and tell them to wait six months and by then the cancer has taken over. They also said most physicians hear about it in medical school but have never seen a case of it. Oh also it can not be detected by a lump or a mammogram. The best defense is recognizing what the warning signs are.

From the IBC website: The signs are One or more of the following are Typical Symptoms of IBC:

Swelling, usually sudden, sometimes a cup size in a few days
Itching
Pink, red, or dark colored area (called erythema) sometimes with texture
similar to the skin of an orange (called peau d'orange)
Ridges and thickened areas of the skin
What appears to be a bruise that does not go away
Nipple retraction
Nipple discharge, may or may not be bloody
Breast is warm to the touch
Breast pain (from a constant ache to stabbing pains)
Change in color and texture of the areola

So I really urge all of you to educate yourself on this disease, you could save a life.

5 comments:

Sheila said...

Thanks Kate. I had never heard of this. I will pass this along to others who should be aware.
xx

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much Kate for sharing about this - I hadn't heard of this before - and I'm sending the info on to all the women in my family now. Thanks and blessings to you! xo

Gill said...

What wonderful information to have. This was a very important post. Thank you!
xo
Blue

Pam Aries said...

THANK YOU for this info! Very Important!!!! ...WEll..the temp rose to 117 degrees after all was said and done yesterday! It is going to be close to that again today!..it is horrible! It is supposed to be 'down' in the 90s by the weekend! I have to say that September is in the 90s..but shouldn't get to triple digits! Mwaaaa! Just be prepared to SWEAT a lot! ha!

Anonymous said...

My mother told me that my best friend's grandmother died of that! I didn't even KNOW what to look for if that were to happen to me. I was around 12yrs when she died. I didn't know what type of cancer it was! Thank you for sharing this with me Kate! It is very nice to be warned of something like this and know what to look for.
*HUGS*