When seeking answers to “What is wrong with my breast?” IBC patients have shared some unusual, even strange, things they were told prior to their diagnosis.
- The doctor said that if it was breast cancer he would be able to find a lump and not just inflammation and swollen nodes, with a discharge and calcifications in the breast tissue due to caffeine (which she doesn’t drink.)
- The doctor said she had spider bites when she developed skin metastasis following treatment for regular breast cancer.
- After her mammogram the radiologist told her to stop wearing under wire bras.
- She was told to change bras and detergent to get rid of the rash.
- My sister was told that her blue colored bruise was a fatty necrosis and no way was it cancer.
- At age 20 she was told the lump she felt was “rib cartilage” and not to worry as she was too young to have breast cancer. She wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2 years and 3 exams later. She died of IBC at age 25.
- She was told she had regular breast cancer instead of IBC. The doctor said he had seen plenty of IBC cases and she didn’t have it. (She did have IBC. The clinical presentation of inflammatory breast cancer may vary from patient to patient.)
- She had inflammation with intense itching on one breast which appeared and disappeared 4 times. The first time it was diagnosed as spider bites; the second time as an allergic reaction to food or detergent, and irritation from cyst fluid from fibrocystic breast the 3rd time. The 4th time, she was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. Note: spider bites or insect bites do not cause inflammatory breast cancer. Seek medical attention if a small red spot having the appearance of an insect bite does not soon resolve.
- Her IBC was first diagnosed as shingles.
- As he sent her on her way with a referral for a biopsy with ultrasound assist, the elderly general surgeon said, “Don’t worry, breast cancer doesn’t grow this fast.” He was wrong. Chemotherapy to treat her inflammatory breast cancer began within a week.
- Finally, although this woman had not been diagnosed with IBC when she wrote this, it does not change the fact that her doctor’s explanation of how IBC starts is erroneous. She was told she didn’t need a biopsy because IBC “starts with a lump which then disperses and she couldn’t have IBC because the lump would have shown up on one of her previous mammograms.”
If you have been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, and would like to share something strange you were told about your symptoms by a doctor prior to your diagnosis, please write to us. Your message will be treated confidentially.
Be your own best advocate to have symptoms diagnosed to know the cause.
