Inflammatory Breast Cancer - Another Silent Killer

It sometimes starts like this: A woman sees what looks like a bug bite on her breast. She goes to the doctor who diagnoses the red mark as a "bug bite," gives her antibiotics and sends her home. She is usually a young woman and there is no lump; chances are that she is not even at the age when a routine mammogram is recommended (which is 40 according to the American Cancer Society, earlier if a mother or sister had the disease).

But it's not a bug bite. The redness spreads and is hot to the touch. It's itchy, too. But, again, she's not really worried about it or thinking of breast cancer, because there is no lump. And all women have been taught what to look for when examining their breasts: lumps being number one. Most of which, by the way (80 percent) are benign cysts.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer is a rare type of breast cancer that's very aggressive and tends to strike young women. It only accounts for 1-5 percent of all the breast cancers in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute. It does not produce a lump, but begins as what looks like a bug bite. It is often miss diagnosed as such. By the time the woman returns to the doctor because the condition hasn't cleared up, she's often at Stage Four Breast Cancer.

There is no "Stage Five."

A mammogram won't pick up this type of cancer in its early stages; an MRI is needed. Although a mammogram will pick it up in the later stages. By then, in many cases, the cancer has already metastasized and spread to other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, where it does the most damage.

Because Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) attacks the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, symptoms may include redness, swelling, and warmth in the breast. The breast might appear bruised. Other symptoms are burning and aching in the breast or an increase in size, or an inverted nipple. These symptoms tend to develop quickly, sometimes over a period of weeks.