Today’s guest post comes from Susan, also known as WhyMommy. I have followed her story from the beginning and was thrilled to meet her in person last year at BlogHer. She has two little boys about the same age as mine and she is an IBC survivor. Not familiar with IBC? Neither was I.
Please read Susan’s post below to learn more about IBC because as she points out “it might just save a life”.
There’s more than one kind of breast cancer. Did you know that? During October, we’re so often flooded with “buy pink” campaigns, and reminders to check ourselves for lumps, that it’s become almost commonplace. We all know that we should do regular self exams, and we’ve heard it so often that the urgency often fades into the background of children, spouses, laundry, and work. But did you know that there’s a kind of breast cancer that forms without a tell-tale lump?
It’s called inflammatory breast cancer, and it spreads FAST. The cancer forms in thin sheets, or in nests, like a bird’s nest of cancer growing inside your breast. There are few external signals or symptoms, and they’re sneaky too, since most of them are similar to mastitis, which many of us have experienced while breastfeeding a baby, or bug bites, or sunburn. But taken together, one or more of these symptoms can signal a dangerous cancer lurking in your breast.
What are the symptoms? Here’s a list, from the IBC Research Foundation:
* 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
* 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 areolaThere’s a great illustration of these symptoms over at Worldwide Breast Cancer that is guaranteed to be not like anything you’ve seen before….
In my mind, it boils down to this. If you notice ANYTHING DIFFERENT on one breast that’s not on the other breast, please CALL YOUR DOCTOR. Today. Because this cancer moves fast, faster than almost any other cancer, and is deadly. Only 40% of patients survive 5 years after diagnosis.
In the 2.5 years since my diagnosis, I’ve already lost a dozen friends to cancer. Many of them were moms and bloggers, readers just like you. They fought hard. They fought with everything they had. But cancer treatment is largely still in the experimental stages, and it’s a tough road. Just to be here today, I had to not only survive cancer, but also survive 6 months of chemotherapy, 7 weeks of daily radiation, 2 surgeries to remove my breasts and ovaries, and a lot of physical therapy to deal with lymphedema, which makes my arm swell in the heat when I step outside (as a lovely side effect of the mastectomy that took all my lymph nodes on that side). It’s been a hard, hard road, but I’m grateful for the chance to be here today, to hug my children, to play their games, to laugh at their knock-knock jokes.
There is joy after cancer. But first we have to get there. So please, take a moment, call/email/blog/tweet/update your friends, and SHARE the SIGNS of inflammatory breast cancer with the people you care about. You never know. You might just save a life.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so PLEASE share this post and information with someone that you know and many thanks to Susan for sharing your story with us today.
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Good luck with your recovery. So important to get the information out there. I actually chose to have a prophalactic bi-lateral mastectomy because of family history and other info. When they performed the surgery they discovered a-typical ductal hyperplasia. Would have been cancer within a year!
.-= Mom’s Day´s last blog ..MOM’S MONDAY MORNING KICKOFF! =-.
Thanks so much for posting this. I have never heard of inflammatory breast cancer. My mother in law just got a clean bill of health from throat cancer. It was a long hard recovery, but she too believes that she received many gifts through cancer.
Thanks again.
.-= Hiit Mama´s last blog ..Can You Take Supplements and Still be Paleo? =-.
Thanks for both the honesty and urgency of this post. You never think that something like this could happen to you until it does, and then everything changes. Good luck with your recovery!
Thanks so much for sharing your story. Phil’s right about how we delude ourselves into thinking we’re invincible until we find out we’re not. Hearing stories like yours are both humbling and alarming. Your recovery will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Although there is no known cure for breast cancer but if it is caught early, it can be treated. Although this is not common in men, the signs that this disease may be present in a male or a female are the same. However, it must be pointed out that these signs can also be an indication of something else.
There are common signs or symptoms of breast cancer :
1. The most obvious sign of this ailment is a lump in the breast or armpit. A self-examination test, once a month, or a visit to the doctor can expose any lump in this area.
2. Change in the size of the breast & shape. If you notice any unusual changes in its shape or size, do not ignore it.
3. There is nipple inversion & spontaneous single nipple discharge. If you observe that your nipples are turning inwards, this may be an indication that everything is not working as well.
4. Pain in the breast is not a reliable symptom but can also be indicative of other breast problems.
Get more info about cancer from this blog, Treatments For Cancer
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