Mystery Diagnosis on IBC, Monday, 8/10/09 @ 10PM EDT

Mystery Diagnosis on Discovery Health will feature the topic of Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) and what it took for Amanda Nixon to finally be diagnosed.

"Aug 10, 10:00 pm

(60 minutes) Mystery Diagnosis
The Breasts That Changed Color
TV-PG, CC

After undergoing breast reduction surgery, Amanda Nixon experiences unusual side effects that lead her to seek the expert opinion of Dr. Joan Kroener. Her hope is that the puzzling pieces of her medical condition will be uncovered."

The woman in this story, Amanda Nixon, was diagnosed at 27 years old.

http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/?id=6313

IBC is a very vicious and aggressive form of breast cancer that can be easily misdiagnosed. It often does NOT show up as a lump on mammogram or ultrasound. Unfortunately, time is of the essence and a wrong diagnosis of this monster can put someone in an early grave.

From Wikipedia:

Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a very aggressive type of breast cancer in which the cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast. This type of breast cancer is called “inflammatory” because the breast often looks swollen and red, or “inflamed”, sometimes overnight and can be misdiagnosed as mastitis. Invasion of the local lymphatic ducts impairs drainage and causes edematous swelling of the breast. Because the skin of the breast is tethered by the suspensory ligament of Cooper, the accumulation of fluid may cause the skin of the breast to assume a dimpled appearance similar to an orange (peau d'orange). IBC is sometimes misdiagnosed as an insect bite or breast infection. In the case of IBC a lump is usually not present as in other forms of breast cancer. Symptoms to look for can be one or many of these symptoms:

Pain in the breast
Skin changes in breast
Reddened area with texture and thickness of an orange (peau d’orange)
Bruise that does not go away
Sudden swelling of the breast
Itching of breast
Nipple retraction (flattened look)or discharge
Swelling of lymph nodes under the arm or in the neck
Unusual warmth of the affected breast
Breast is harder or firmer
Other symptoms may rarely include:

Swelling of the arm
Breast decreases instead of increasing
Although a dominant mass is present in many cases, most inflammatory cancers present as diffuse infiltration of the breast without a well-defined tumor.
A lump may become present and grow rapidly

The IBC Research Foundation:

http://www.ibcresearch.org/symptoms/

Sasse