Good health practices include getting recommended screenings regularly, eating a healthy diet and exercising, as well being alert to physical changes that could indicate a health problem.  No one knows your body the way you do, so it is important to follow-up with your healthcare professional when you have concerns. 

An important aspect of breast health is  looking at your breasts, and noting any change in skin color or texture.  Use a mirror to check the underside of your breast, where changes might not be quickly or easily seen.  Compare your breasts for size and shape.  If you have not gone through menopause yet, you may have changes due to hormonal variations, but these are temporary.  Know what is normal for you. 

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Symptoms

While most breast changes do not mean serious problems, you should know that there is a form of breast cancer that can look like a breast infection (mastitis).  Inflammatory breast cancer is particularly challenging and to diagnose.  Although it is an uncommon type of breast cancer, it is the one that grows fastest, and it is not always detected by conventional screening tests such as ultrasound and mammogram.  Be especially alert to the following potential symptoms:

• Rapid, unusual increase in breast size
• Redness, rash, or “blotchiness” of the breast skin
• A “bug bite” or ”bruise” that doesn’t go away
• Persistent itching of breast or nipple
• Lump or thickening of the breast tissue
• Stabbing pain, soreness, aching, or  “heaviness” of the breast similar to that during breast feeding
• Feverish breast (increased warmth)
• Swelling of lymph nodes under the arm or above the collar bone
• Dimpling or ridging of the breast
• Flattening or retracting of the nipple
• Nipple discharge or a change in the colored area around the nipple

These symptoms may not mean you have cancer; they could indicate a benign breast disorder. However, you should ask your healthcare professional to investigate  ANY changes in your breasts right away if they don’t resolve on their own within 2 weeks.

Inflammatory breast cancer tends to be more common in younger women and looks a lot like a breast infection (mastitis).  The disease grows in nests or sheets in the lymphatic layer of the skin.  Experts believe that clusters of tumor cells block the flow of lymphatic fluid, causing many of the symptoms. 

The fact that inflammatory breast cancer does not always cause a  lump makes finding and diagnosing this disease more complicated.  A hallmark of inflammatory breast cancer is how quickly the symptoms develop and progress.  Because of this, if you have any of the symptoms above, it may be useful to photograph the progression of symptoms to provide a timeline for your doctor. This can help  him or her evaluate the symptoms. 

Diagnosing Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Mammography, ultrasound, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) are used to evaluate worrisome breast symptoms.  Your doctor may give you a a course of antibiotics to determine if the symptoms are related to an infection.  If the imaging studies show an abnormality, your doctor may prescribe  further studies and perhaps a biopsy.  It is important that any biopsy performed to rule out inflammatory breast cancer include the skin and tissue in the layers just beneath the skin.  A biopsy that uses a needle to remove tissues deeper in the breast (sometimes called fine needle aspiration biopsy) may not obtain enough tissue to adequately diagnose inflammatory breast cancer.

If you find worrisome breast symptoms, you will probably be examined by your family physician or OB/GYN.  However, you may need to consult a with a breast specialist (breast surgeon), who has specific with expertise in breast problems, to rule out inflammatory breast cancer.

For more information on inflammatory breast cancer, and other forms of breast cancer, see the NCCN Guidelines for Patients: Breast Cancer and the NCCN Treatment Summaries for People with Cancer. In addition, the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation is dedicated to finding the cause of this illness and promoting breast health and awareness.

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