About IBC

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. IBC can be difficult to spot. Unlike many breast cancers, you can have IBC without a lump. It is therefore important to know your breasts well and to observe them carefully at any age (see advice on observation by the Mayo Clinic). Any persistent breast changes should be looked at by a breast specialist IMMEDIATELY.

Symptoms

IBC manifests itself through one or more of the following symptoms, which progress rapidly often within days or weeks:

part of the breast changes colour, becoming more pink, red or purplish or bruised looking (the change in colour may be subtle at the beginning or harder to detect for women with darker skin tones)
an increase in size of the breast, a swollen breast or a breast that feels heavy
dimpled or pitted skin that looks like an orange peel (called peau d’orange; there may or may not be a change in colour with the dimpling)
skin changes that look like ridges, welts, or hives on your breast
thickening of skin or breast tissue
a breast that feels warm to the touch
nipple changes, a nipple that flattens or suddenly starts to point inward (inverted nipple)
tenderness or pain in the breast
itching or burning in the breast
enlarged lymph nodes (lumps) under the arm (armpit), above or below the collarbone
a lump in the breast (not as common as in other breast cancers).

For one Canadian patient, the first visual symptom was a swollen arm, which delayed diagnosis. In a case in the US, the first symptom was the appearance of freckles on the chest.

IBC vs Infection

IBC symptoms can be confused with an infection. Mastitis is a breast infection that can occur in women who are breastfeeding. Unlike IBC, mastitis usually causes a fever and is easily treated with antibiotics. If you are diagnosed with mastitis that does not quickly respond to antibiotics, INSIST that your doctor also assess you for IBC ASAP. Your doctor may recommend a mammogram or other test to evaluate your symptoms. The only way to determine if your symptoms are caused by IBC is to do a biopsy to remove a sample of tissue for testing. The same applies if you are told you have cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the breast skin, which doesn’t improve with medication.

Why me?

Despite all our medical advances, we don’t really know yet what causes IBC. According to the American Cancer Society, about 1% of all breast cancer cases in the United States are IBC. The number of IBC cases doesn't appear to be tracked in Canada. We know that IBC is more common in African American women. Being obese makes a person more likely to develop IBC but one can be very thin and still develop IBC. Like other breast cancers, men can also get IBC.

Can I be cured?

There is no sugar-coating it: IBC has a lower survival rate than other types of breast cancer. BUT DON'T PANIC.

While IBC is a serious and frightening diagnosis, treatments available today are better at controlling IBC than in the past. As stated by the Canadian Cancer Society, “prognosis and survival depend on many factors.” Because there are different types of IBC, diagnosed at different stages (Stage 3 or 4), and because patients are different from one another and react differently to treatments, only your doctor will be able to tell you what to expect in your situation. There are women diagnosed with IBC who have survived for 20+ years.

For general statistics and analysis regarding IBC survival rates, please see the following article.