The National Cancer Institute, NCI, describes the symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer as:
- A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area
- A change in the size or shape of the breast
- Nipple discharge or tenderness, or the nipple pulled back (inversion) into the breast
- Ridges or pitting of the breast (the skin looks like the skin of an orange)
- A change in the way the skin of the breast, areola, or nipple looks or feels (for example, warm, swollen, red, or scaly)
In the NCI’s Glossary:
Inflammatory breast cancer: A type of breast cancer in which the breast looks red and swollen, and feels warm. The skin of the breast may also show the pitted appearance called peau d’orange (like the skin of an orange). The redness and warmth occur because the cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin.
