The Breast Cancer You’ve Never Heard Of

If you’re lucky enough to have never been diagnosed or have a loved one diagnosed with breast cancer, you may not know there are more than 20 different kinds. One of the rarest and most aggressive is Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC).

Because this cancer is also one of the most difficult to diagnose, we’re happy to be raising awareness about IBC during the CURE-Ageous 5K Fun Run happening in Cross Creek West on Oct. 19. The run benefits the IBC Network Foundation, which raises awareness and funds for research to cure the disease.

Why Is IBC Hard to Diagnose?

Most breast cancers start with a noticeable lump in the breast. Not so with IBC. Instead, IBC symptoms include:

• Skin discoloration
• Sudden and persistent rash
• Swelling or firmness in one breast
• Persistent itching or burning
• One breast feels warmer than the other
• Skin appearing pitted like an orange peel
• Swollen lymph nodes near the collarbone or under the arm

Mammograms typically can’t diagnose inflammatory breast cancer. Instead, doctors rely on a clinical exam, biopsy, MRI or ultrasound. But because the symptoms of IBC can indicate other conditions such as an infection, doctors often don’t immediately consider cancer. In fact, it took Terry Arnold, the founder of the IBC Network, four months to receive a correct diagnosis. And when IBC is diagnosed, it is classified as Stage 3 and sometimes Stage 4 if it has spread outside the breast and skin to other organs.

As mentioned earlier, IBC is very aggressive, with most patients not living past two years. When Terry was eventually diagnosed, she was told repeatedly that she didn’t have long to live. Luckily, she is a 17-year survivor and loves that “no evidence of disease” is listed on her medical chart.

When Terry was first diagnosed, she found very little information about IBC on the internet. Today — in large part because of the foundation she formed — it’s listed on websites for the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen and other popular resources. Arming patients and doctors with this information helps people get treated much sooner than in previous years, increasing their chances for survival. Inflammatory breast cancer is still considered to have a high fatality rate. But with the help of the IBC Network and fundraisers such as our CURE-Ageous 5K Fun Run, awareness of the disease is greater and more research being done. Want to support the cause? Sign up for the race now!

Other Facts About IBC

• Tends to be diagnosed at earlier ages than other breast cancers
• It is more commonly diagnosed in Black women
• IBC tumors are often hormone receptor negative, which means that hormone therapies that can interfere with the growth of cancer cells fueled by estrogen may not be effective against these tumors
• Inflammatory breast cancer is more common in obese women
• Causes for IBC are unknown, and there is not a form of detection prior to Stage 3